Packet-optical in-band telemetry (POINT) flow tracing and proof-of-transit

A device configured for multi-layer in-band telemetry in a packet-optical network, the device comprising:

• a processor coupled to at least one interface;
• the at least one interface configured to receive, at a packet layer, a packet including at least a header and a payload;
• the processor configured to:
• read intent information from the header, wherein the intent information includes a request for flow tracing information;
• translate the intent information from the packet layer to generate a device-specific action in an optical layer, wherein the device-specific action provides at least one globally unique identifier (ID) associated with the device;
• execute the device-specific action in the optical layer to generate a response corresponding to the intent, wherein the response includes the at least one globally unique identifier associated with the device;
• associate the response with the intent;
• and
• encode the response in the packet layer and provide the response to the at least one interface for downstream data forwarding.