Patent ID: 7957270

Claim:
A method for provisioning a Resilient Packet Ring (“RPR”) over a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (“WDM”) network comprising: sending data packets between a plurality of stations of the WDM network at substantially the same time over a dual ring fiber optic link, at least one data packet comprising a wavelength that is different from all other data packets sent between the plurality of station at substantially the same time; sending a first operations, administrative, and maintenance (“OAM”) message from a first station of the plurality of stations to a second station of the plurality of the stations, the first station adjacent to the second station in the WDM network; detecting a location of a failure in the WDM network after a failure to receive an acknowledgement of the first OAM message at the first station from the second station after a predetermined period of time; sending a second OAM message from the first station to the other stations of the plurality of stations notifying the plurality of stations of the location of the failure in response to detecting the location of the failure; steering future data packets sent from one station of the plurality of stations of the WDM network to another station of the plurality of stations of the WDM network away from the location of the failure in response to receipt of the second OAM message; sending a third OAM message from the first station of the plurality of stations to the second station of the plurality of stations; determining that the failure has been repaired based on receipt of an acknowledgement of the third OAM message at the first station from the second station within a predetermined period of time; sending a fourth OAM message from the first station to the other stations of the plurality of stations notifying the plurality of stations that the failure has been repaired in response to determining that the failure has been repaired; and ceasing to steer future data packets sent between the plurality of stations away from the location of the repaired failure in response to receipt of the fourth OAM message.