Patent ID: 8254272

Claim:
A method, comprising: determining a particular path computation chain for computing an inter-domain path from a source in one domain to a destination in another domain, the particular path computation chain including a plurality path computation elements (PCEs) associated with different domains along the inter-domain path, wherein each PCE is capable of, in response to receipt of a path computation request, computing at least a portion of the inter-domain path within the PCE's associated domain based on a network graph and applied computational constraints, and returning a response that includes the computed at least a portion of the inter-domain path; sending, from an interested node, a path computation element (PCE) monitor request along the particular path computation chain to request processing metrics for path computations performed at one or more PCEs along the path computation chain; and receiving, at the interested node, a PCE monitor reply including processing metrics for path computations performed at the one or more PCEs along the path computation chain.