Supporting OAM on protecting connections in shared mesh protection environment

1. A method comprising the steps of:

sending, with first circuitry in a first node in a mesh network, a first message to a second node of the mesh network in a first protection path while the first protection path is passing user traffic, the first protection path being a path through the mesh network, the first message containing protection path identification data identifying the first protection path;

sending, from the second to the first node, a status message, the status message indicating whether the status message is a hop-by-hop acknowledgment or an end-to-end acknowledgment, the status message further indicating whether resources are available for the protection path, the protection path is pre-empted by another path in the mesh network, or failure of the mesh network;

determining a failure of the first protection path to pass the user traffic;

switching the user traffic to a second protection path,

the first message being an LSP ping message, which includes a tunnel ID associated with the first protection path and a time-to-live value indicative of a number of hops in the network through which the first message travels, the network transmitting and receiving packets in accordance with Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) protocols, such that the network is a GMPLS network, the GMPLS network having a data plane and a control plane; and

synchronizing the data plane and the control plane of the GMPLS network based on the LSP ping message.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining the failure of the first protection path is defined further as activating a timer for a predetermined time period at initiation of sending the first message, and determining the failure by not receiving a second message replying to the first message from the second node within the predetermined time period.

3. A method comprising the steps of:

sending, with first circuitry in a first node in a mesh network, a first message to a second node of the mesh network in a first protection path while the first protection path is passing user traffic, the first protection path being a path through the mesh network, the first message containing protection path identification data identifying the first protection path, the first message having a time to live field equal to 1, the first message being an LSP ping message, which includes a tunnel ID associated with the first protection path and a time-to-live value indicative of a number of hops in the network through which the first message travels, the mesh network transmitting and receiving packets in accordance with Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) protocols, such that the mesh network is a GMPLS mesh network, the GMPLS mesh network having a data plane and a control plane;

sending, from the second to the first node, a status message, the status message indicating whether the status message is a hop-by-hop acknowledgment or an end-to-end acknowledgment, the status message further indicating whether resources are available for the protection path, the protection path is pre-empted by another path in the mesh network, or failure of the mesh network; and

synchronizing the data plane and the control plane of the GMPLS mesh network based on the LSP ping message;

determining a failure of the first protection path to pass the user traffic; and

switching the user traffic to a second protection path.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of determining the failure of the first protection path is defined further as activating a timer for a predetermined time period at initiation of sending the first message, and determining the failure by not receiving a second message replying to the first message from the second node within the predetermined time period.

5. A node, comprising:

an output interface for transmitting traffic to a first communication link, wherein the output interface is configured to send a first message to a second node of a mesh network in a first protection path while the first protection path is activated and passing user traffic, the first protection path being a path through the mesh network, the first message containing protection path identification data identifying the first protection path, the first message being an LSP ping message, which includes a tunnel ID associated with the first protection path and a time-to-live value indicative of a number of hops in the network through which the first message travels;

an input interface for receiving user traffic from a second communication link, wherein the input interface is configured to receive a reply message from the second node in response to the first message, wherein the reply message identifies a failure of the first protection path to pass the user traffic, the input interface also receiving from the second a status message, the status message indicating whether the status message is a hop-by-hop acknowledgment or an end-to-end acknowledgment, the status message further indicating whether resources are available for the protection path, the protection path is pre-empted by another path in the mesh network, or failure of the mesh network;

a switch for communicating the user traffic from the input interface to the output interface; and

a control module utilizing GMPLS protocols and controlling the input interface, the output interface and the switch, the control module storing the identification data indicative of the protection path, the control module further determining the failure of the first protection path to pass user traffic and switching the user traffic to a second protection path, the mesh network transmitting and receiving packets in accordance with Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) protocols, such that the mesh network is a GMPLS mesh network, a data plane and a control plane of the GMPLS mesh network being synchronized based on the LSP ping message.

6. The node of claim 5 , wherein the node further comprises a timer configured to activate for a predetermined time period, the predetermined time period starting when the output interface sends the first message, and wherein the control module determines the failure of the first protection path to pass user traffic by not receiving a second message replying to the first message from the second node within the predetermined time period.