Patent ID: 8441937

Claim:
A method for monitoring connectivity of a connection between a first edge node and a second edge node in a network, the method comprising: receiving, at a first edge node in a network, a path message transmitted by a second edge node to establish a path between the first edge node and the second edge node, wherein the path message comprises: a Type-Length-Value (TLV) that includes a connectivity interval field in which a connectivity check interval value is coded; an Ethernet Label that indicates a source Media Access Control (MAC) address and a source Virtual local area network IDentifier (VID) associated with the second edge node; configuring an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) entity to monitor the path between the first edge node and the second edge node based on the path message, wherein monitoring the path comprises transmitting connectivity check messages to the second edge node at an interval determined based on the connectivity check interval value in the TLV; and transmitting a response to the second edge node using the source MAC address and the source VID, wherein the response comprises an Ethernet Label that indicates a destination MAC address and a destination VID associated with the first edge node.