Technique for testing peers in multicast network domain

1. A method for testing a destination peer node in a multicast domain being interconnected with an Ethernet network via an Intermediate Bridge IB, the method comprising the following steps:

issuing a multicast Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) message from a Source node located in the Ethernet network, toward the multicast domain, while introducing, into the CFM message, alternative destination data being different than an individual MAC address of the destination peer node;

said alternative destination data being indicative of a topological position of said destination peer node and being introduced at the Source node, into one or more predetermined fields of the CFM message;

utilizing said alternative destination data, at the IB, for determining a topological position or address of said destination peer node, by analyzing said one or more predetermined fields of the CFM message, and

forwarding contents of said CFM message only to said destination peer node.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said alternative destination data is introduced in the CFM message when the individual MAC address of the destination peer node is unknown to the Source node.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said alternative destination data is introduced in one or more proprietary Type Length Value (TLV) fields of the CFM message.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising receiving at the IB a response message from said destination peer node, and forwarding contents of the response message from the IB to the Source node.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said alternative destination data is utilized at the IB upon detecting its presence in said CFM message being a multicast message.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein

the multicast domain supports CFM,

both the message issued from the IB to the determined destination peer node, and the response message are CFM messages;

said CFM message from the Ethernet network is transparently forwarded via the IB to the determined destination peer node,

said response CFM message is transparently forwarded via the IB to the Source node.

7. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the multicast domain does not support CFM, so that both said issued messages from the IB to the determined destination peer node, and the response message, are native OAM format messages, and wherein the method respectively comprises converting said CFM message to an OAM format when forwarding it from the IB to the determined destination peer node, and converting the OAM response message to a CFM format whenever forwarding contents of said response message from the IB to the Source node.

8. A system for testing, from an Ethernet network, peer nodes in a multicast domain; the system comprising:

a Source node in the Ethernet network, operative to issue a multicast Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) message from the Ethernet network toward the multicast domain, and capable of introducing into one or more predetermined fields of the CFM message alternative destination data being other than an individual MAC address of a destination peer node while being indicative of topological position of said destination peer node;

an Intermediate Bridge interconnecting the Ethernet network and the multicast domain, operative to receive said CFM message, capable of utilizing said alternative destination data in the CFM by utilizing said one or more predetermined fields of the CFM message, for determining a topological position or address of said destination peer node, and further operative to forward contents of said CFM message only to the determined destination peer node.

9. A system according to claim 8 , wherein

the Source node being capable of introducing said alternative destination data in one or more proprietary TLV fields of the CFM message and sending it as a multicast message to said IB;

the IB being capable of checking presence of said one or more proprietary TLV fields in the received CFM message;

if one or more proprietary TLV fields is present in the received CFM message, analyzing said alternative destination data in said one or more predetermined TLV fields;

determining an intended destination peer node of the CFM message based on at least said alternative destination data;

issuing a single message to the determined destination peer node in a format supported by said destination peer node, said single message forwarding contents of said CFM message;

receiving a response message from said destination peer node and forwarding contents of the response message to the Source node.

10. The system according to claim 9 , wherein said IB is capable of issuing said single message either in a CFM format or in an CFM format supported by said destination peer node, and capable of converting the response message from said OAM format to the CFM format.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable program code executable by a computer and comprising computer implementable instructions and/or data which, being run on the computer, allow carrying out the method according to claim 1 .