Patent ID: 8681637

Claim:
A method for establishing a traffic connection and an associated monitoring connection in a communication network, the method comprising the steps of: sending a first connection establishment message from an ingress node of the traffic connection along a path of the traffic connection to initiate the establishment of the traffic connection, wherein the connection establishment message comprises a monitoring connection request that designates a first and a second node of the connection path, intercepting the first connection establishment message at the designated first node of the connection path, sending a second connection establishment message from the designated first node along the connection path to establish the monitoring connection between the designated first and second nodes of the connection path, and sending the first connection setup message from the designated first node along the connection path to resume and complete the establishment of the traffic connection, wherein the traffic connection is encapsulated into the monitoring connection between the designated first and second nodes of the connection path; and wherein the monitoring connection request comprises an object in a RSVP-TE Path message, said object comprising an identifier of the designated first node and an identifier of the designated second node.