Patent ID: 6917759

Claim:
In an optical mesh network, a controller for providing a 1:N shared mesh protection system to define a protection path associated with N working paths, the controller comprising: a) a first link for connecting the controller to a control layer of the network to monitor network traffic communicated in a path layer of the network; b) a second link for connecting the controller to the path layer of the network, the path layer including a plurality of interconnected network elements for providing the associated protection path and working paths; c) a connection table accessible by the controller, the connection table for having connection information of the network elements associated with the protection path and the working paths, the connection information including a first identity assignable to the protection path and a distinctive second identity assignable to each of the working paths; and d) a failure indicator for providing the first identity and the second identity relatable to a network failure of the corresponding working path to at least one of the network elements associated with the controller, the failure indicator for insertion into an interrupt driven overhead byte of the network traffic for communication between the network elements; wherein the failure indicator is communicated in the overhead byte of the network traffic to provide for the establishment of the associated protection path after the network failure has been detected in the corresponding working path.