Patent ID: 7424032

Claim:
A method for interfacing multiple services over a SONET/SDH communication network using SONET/SDH payloads, comprising the steps of: (a) provisioning a SONET/SDH frame into provisioned containers for carrying each service of the multiple services; (b) receiving service data in its own native data format from one or more services of the multiple services; (c) mapping the service data for each of the one or more services of the multiple services in the native data format into a corresponding one of the provisioned containers to complete a SONET/SDH SPE payload; and (d) transmitting a first SONET/SDH payload containing the service data into the SONET/SDH communication network, wherein the service data from the multiple services is communicated to the SONET/SDH communication network using the first SONET/SDH payload, wherein the step of receiving and the step of mapping service data comprise storing data for transmission to the SONET/SDH communication system using an elastic storage means, and providing a service byte engine comprising a control means to control the steps of receiving and mapping of the service data responsive to the step of provisioning the SONET/SDH frame and a frame start signal for generating control signals, and a services add byte engine for storing information received from M service data streams into the elastic storage means, processing information a byte at a time and storing M intermediate states as the processing changes from one of the M service data streams to a next.