Patent ID: 7889642

Claim:
An apparatus for re-routing a signal through a network including a plurality of links, the apparatus comprising: an input interface coupled to receive the signal from the network; a framer, coupled to the interface, that extracts an alias destination address from the signal, the alias destination address including a first internet protocol (IP) multicast address; a plurality of output interfaces, a first one of the plurality of output interfaces being associated with an active path in the network and a second one of the plurality of output interfaces being associated with an alternative path in the network; and a controller, the apparatus storing a plurality of second IP multicast addresses and data identifying the plurality of links in the network, wherein, in the absence of a fault in the network, the controller is configured to identify the first one of the plurality of interfaces based on the data identifying the plurality of links in the network, such that the signal is directed toward a destination node in the network via the active path, and when the fault occurs in the network, the controller is configured to identify the second one of the plurality of interfaces based on the first IP multicast address and at least one of the plurality of second IP multicast addresses, such that the signal is directed toward the destination node in the network via the alternative path.