Patent ID: 7363362

Claim:
A method of automatically provisioning a bi-directional line switched ring (BLSR) using a plurality of network elements in a service provider network and using a sub-network level approach, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: receiving first user input specifying a plurality of ring attribute values that define attributes of a bi-directional line switched ring for provisioning on network elements of one or more non-connected sub-networks; receiving second user input specifying one or more working spans for the bi-directional line switched ring; automatically configuring each of the network elements to participate in the bi-directional line switched ring based on the parameter values; determining whether the ring attribute values specify a 4-fiber BLSR; receiving third user input specifying a selection of ports for protect spans when the ring attribute values specify a 4-fiber BLSR; displaying a list of one or more BLSRs that are then-currently provisioned in the service provider network, wherein each of the BLSRs is associated with a ring identifier value; receiving a selection of one of the BLSRs in the list; generating and displaying a network topology display that includes only those network elements of the service provider network that participate in the selected BLSR.