Patent ID: 6982989

Claim:
A meted of transferring variable-length data frames across a synchronous network employing a multiple-channel synchronous transport signal to carry data among nodes of the network, wherein each channel of the synchronous transport signal carries data in fixed-size payloads, comprising: encapsulating each data frame in a corresponding point-to-point frame, each point-to-point frame including a body portion of the corresponding data frame and a length value, the length value being located at a predetermined position in a beginning portion of the point-to-point frame; dividing each point-to-point frame into a corresponding set of fixed-sized segments, a first one of the segments of each set carrying the beginning portion of the corresponding point-to-point frame such that the length value is located at a predetermined position in the first segment; transmitting the segments of each point-to-point frame as a corresponding set of payloads of at least one channel of the synchronous transport signal, each set of payloads being marked so as to be identifiable in a stream of payloads of the at least one channel of the synchronous transport signal; receiving each set of payloads of the at least one channel of the synchronous transport signal, and from each received set of payloads regenerating the corresponding point-to-point flame based at least in part on the length value from the first segment; and de-capsulating each regenerated point-to-point frame to recover the corresponding data frame.