Patent ID: 7643499

Claim:
A method of transporting MPLS protocol data units (PDU) from a first MPLS network to a destination in a second MPLS network across an ATM network, said method comprising: establishing a source edge and a destination edge, said source edge being provided on a source multi-service switch and said destination edge being provided on a destination multi-service switch, said source and destination edges being connected at opposite edges of said ATM network; at said source edge, generating a modified setup signal for identifying a path for a virtual circuit across said ATM network from said source edge to said destination edge; transporting, within said modified setup signal, LSP-specific data from said first edge to said second edge for enabling transmission of said MPLS PDUs to said destination in said second MPLS network using an ATM signaling protocol, wherein said LSP-specific data comprises an address of said destination in said second MPLS network, ingress label information, and egress label information necessary for routing said MPLS PDUs in said second MPLS network; and stripping, at said source edge, ingress labels used by said MPLS PDUs within said first MPLS network.