Patent ID: 7710864

Claim:
A device comprising: a plurality of ports, the plurality of ports including a first port and a second port, the first port being configurable to be in a forwarding state; means for identifying if the first port is interfaced with a failure associated with a network ring; means for generating at least a first G.709 frame, the means for generating at least the first G.709 frame being arranged to insert at least one bit into at least the first G.709 frame that indicates that the failure associated with the network ring has been identified if the first port is interfaced with the failure associated with the network ring; means for forwarding at least the first G.709 frame through the second port; means for changing a configuration of the first port from the forwarding state to a blocking state if the first port is interfaced with the failure associated with the network ring; means for detecting if the failure associated with the network ring has been repaired; means for generating a second G.709 frame with repair information; means for forwarding the second G.709 frame through the second port; and means for receiving an acknowledgement through the second port in response to forwarding the second G.709 frame.