Patent ID: 8862719

Claim:
A data transmission/reception apparatus connected to a network in which data is transmitted and received, comprising: a network layer device section for performing a process corresponding to a physical layer; a maintenance management data insertion/extraction section for inserting maintenance management data into data to be transmitted, transmitting the data to be transmitted, and extracting maintenance management data from received data; an inserted data identification section for identifying whether the data inserted in frame format is the maintenance management data or user data by using information on the maintenance management data in a start field delimiter field of a frame, the frame including the start field delimiter field and a preamble field other than a network layer 2 frame of the frame; and a set value extension determination section for determining whether a set value of an existing field in the frame format is an extended value, wherein the maintenance management data insertion/extraction section performs insertion and extraction of the maintenance management data with respect to the network layer device section, in a frame format of data processed in the network layer device section, the maintenance management data or user data is inserted into a prescribed field therein, and when it is determined that the set value is not the extended value by the set value extension determination section, the maintenance management data insertion/extraction section inserts and extracts the maintenance management data in another network layer device section corresponding to a data link layer.