Patent ID: 8838829

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, at a second device in a network, a message communicated to establish a Pseudowire that is configured to carry non-multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) packets between a plurality of devices in a path of the Pseudowire, the plurality of devices comprising a first device, the second device, and a third device, wherein the message includes first information relating to the first device, the first information including a first device identification that identifies the first device in the path of the Pseudowire; appending, with the second device, second information relating to the second device to the message such that the message comprises both the first information related to the first device and the second information related to the second device, wherein the second information comprises a second device identification that identifies the second device in the path of the Pseudowire; forwarding, with the second device, the message to the third device in the path of the Pseudowire after the second information is appended; receiving, at the third device, the message from the second device, wherein the message includes a plurality of device identifications including the first device identification and the second device identification, and wherein the plurality of device identifications identifies the plurality of devices in the path of the Pseudowire that communicated the message prior to receipt by the third device; and analyzing, with the third device, the plurality of device identifications to identify the plurality of devices in the path of the Pseudowire that communicated the message prior to receipt by the third device.