Patent ID: 7283478

Claim:
In a communication system made up of network nodes arranged in multiple interconnected networks, including a bi-directional ring network having an inner ring and an outer ring, a method for traffic engineering, comprising: defining the bi-directional ring network as a multi-access network for purposes of a routing protocol used in the system; advertising constraint information to the nodes in the system outside the bi-directional ring network with regard to connections on the inner and outer rings between the nodes within the bi-directional ring network, the constraint information comprising a bandwidth constraint that is applicable to one of the inner and the outer rings and is associated with a protection mechanism comprising wrapping or steering of traffic flows between the inner and outer rings; and routing a traffic flow from one of the nodes in the system outside the bi-directional ring network through the system in accordance with the routing protocol, so that the flow passes through the bi-directional ring network on at least one of the connections on one of the inner and outer rings that is selected responsive to the constraint information.