Patent ID: 8553530

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a state module that selects one of first communication equipment and second communication equipment of a redundant pair to be in an In-Service operating state in the redundant pair, the redundant pair providing redundancy protection for communication traffic associated with the apparatus; and a traffic processor, operatively coupled to the state module, that controls operating states of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment by transmitting, to only the selected one of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment, live communication traffic including content for further transmission from the one of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment, the live communication traffic causing the selected one of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment to transition to the In-Service operating state and absence of the live communication traffic at the other of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment causing the other of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment to transition to a Standby operating state in the redundant pair, wherein the traffic processor transmits maintenance signals to the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment, and wherein the state module selects one of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment to be in the In-Service operating state based on responses to the maintenance signals by the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment, wherein the traffic processor includes in the live communication traffic transmitted to only the one of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment a first indication that the live communication traffic includes content for further transmission from the one of the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment, wherein the traffic processor includes in each of the maintenance signals a second indication that the maintenance signal includes no content for further transmission from the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment, wherein the first communication equipment and the second communication equipment respond to the maintenance signals with either the second indication or, if the communication equipment has been selected to be in the In-Service operating state by another apparatus for which the redundant pair provides redundancy protection, with a third indication that the communication equipment has been selected by the other apparatus to be in the In-Service operating state.