Patent ID: 8432894

Claim:
A method, comprising: using a processor to provide a first forwarding instance that includes a first set of routes, wherein the first set of routes includes a route to a first node and a route to a second node; using the processor to provide a second forwarding instance that includes a second set of routes comprising a subset of the first set of routes, wherein the second set of routes includes a route to the first node and excludes a route to the second node; associating the first forwarding instance and the second forwarding instance with a route table manager in a control plane, such that as a result of the association the first forwarding instance and the second forwarding instance use a same port; using the processor to advertise, on an access side that is facing a customer edge, a first label associated with the first forwarding instance; using the processor to advertise, on a network side, a second label associated with the second forwarding instance; and routing traffic based at least in part on label and intended destination, including by: in the event the traffic is associated with the first label and the first node is the intended destination of the traffic, routing the traffic using the route to the first node included in the first forwarding instance; in the event the traffic is associated with the first label and the second node is the intended destination of the traffic, routing the traffic using the route to the second node included in the first forwarding instance; in the event the traffic is associated with the second label and the first node is the intended destination of the traffic, routing the traffic using the route to the first node included in the second forwarding instance; and in the event the traffic is associated with the second label and the second node is the intended destination of the traffic, refraining from routing the traffic to the second node.