Patent ID: 8380066

Claim:
A method for use with a network having first and second terminating nodes and a plurality of intermediate nodes, a first one of the plurality of intermediate nodes being configured to auto-discover a second one of the intermediate nodes, the first and second terminating nodes lacking said auto-discovery and are not configured to auto-discover the plurality of intermediate nodes, the method including: obtaining a first identifier from the first terminating node, the first terminating node being configured to receive a first client signal, the first client signal carrying client data; obtaining a second identifier from the second terminating node, the second terminating node being configured to supply a second client signal, the second client signal carrying the client data; determining a path that carries the client data through the network from the first terminating node to the second terminating node via the first one of the plurality of intermediate nodes, said determining being based, at least in part, on a match between first and second identifiers.