Patent ID: 8737416

Claim:
An access node, comprising: a logically bonded plurality of physical ports by which traffic is communicated over a corresponding plurality of physical links to a customer premises network interface (CPNI) device; a processor configured to logically bond the plurality of physical ports for transmitting the traffic by the plurality of physical ports; and a plurality of virtual access nodes (VANs), which are each established by logically bonding the plurality of physical ports, wherein policy management information, including quality of service requirements, is applied to each of the plurality of virtual access nodes, wherein each of the plurality of virtual access nodes stores traffic in a set of queues, with the set of queues for each of the plurality of virtual access nodes having priorities provided by the quality of service requirements, wherein a logical port identifier for each virtual access node associated with a digital subscriber line access multiplexer is used for authentication in designated protocols and for association with virtual connections in an aggregation switch, and wherein when there is a failure in one of the plurality of physical links, an event is triggered that adjusts a configuration of the logically bonded plurality of physical ports and the policy management information, and an alarm is triggered that provides information regarding the failure, including a virtual access node identifier, a physical port identifier, and a timestamp.