Patent ID: 8462640

Claim:
A method of simultaneously monitoring, in a Multi-Protocol Label Switching network, both a label switched path and a tandem connection of said label switched path, said tandem connection comprising a sequence of succeeding nodes being a section of said label switched path, said tandem connection to be monitored having an input node and an output node, said method comprising: receiving a first Operation, Administration and Management, OAM, packet at the input node, said first OAM packet having a switching header and an OAM header; processing at the input node said first Operation, Administration and Management, OAM, packet to provide a recalculated switching header and an additional tandem connection header located between and being different from said switching header and said OAM header; generating at the input node a second Operation, Administration and Management, OAM, packet having a switching header and an OAM header but no additional tandem connection header; sending towards said output node both said first OAM packet and said second OAM packet; at said output node, identifying said second OAM packet according to the absence of said tandem connection header, and extracting said second OAM packet from said label switched path for monitoring said tandem connection; and at said output node, identifying said first OAM packet according to the presence of said tandem connection header and forwarding said first OAM packet along said label switched path, without the tandem connection header and with the switching header of the first OAM packet recalculated for said forwarding, for monitoring said label switched path.