Patent ID: 8611211

Claim:
A method for fast rerouting (FRR) of traffic in a communication network, from a working path comprising a link connecting a first node and a second, downstream node, to one or more backup paths concurrently providing link protection and node protection to the link and the second node; wherein the first node is called a point of local repair PLR, said second node is called a next hop node NHOP, and wherein the working path comprises one or more third nodes positioned downstream to said second node along said working path and called next-next hop nodes NNHOPs; the method comprises: pre-provisioning one or more backup paths in the network for concurrently providing link protection against failure of said link connecting said first node (PLR) and said second node (NHOP), and node protection against failure of said second node; preventing the second node from forwarding of traffic, if received at the second node along said one or more backup paths, towards a more-downstream third node in the working path in case the third node participates in providing node protection against node failure of the second node; providing said second node (NHOP) with a blocking rule enabling to block forwarding of traffic, if received at said second node along said one or more backup paths, towards a third node out of said one or more third nodes (NNHOPs) in case said third node participates in providing node protection against the failure of said second node, wherein the blocking rule: a) blocks forwarding the traffic received at said second node via said one or more backup paths, towards those third nodes out of said one or more third nodes, which participate in node protection against failure of said second node, while b) allows forwarding said traffic towards remaining third nodes out of said one or more third nodes, wherein the remaining third nodes do not participate in node protection against failure of said second node; carrying out fast rerouting (FRR) of traffic in said communication network, from a working path to the one or more backup paths, thereby enabling conveyance of traffic from said first node of the communication network to said third node of the communication network while preventing traffic duplication at the third node and without distinguishing a link failure from a node failure.