Protocol for the determination of network topology

A computer program product encoded in computer readable media, the computer program product comprising:

• first instructions, executable by a first processor, for identifying a first node and a second node of a plurality of nodes, said plurality of nodes being coupled by a plurality of links to form an optical network;
• second instructions, executable by said first processor, for discovering a physical path from said first node to said second node by automatically identifying intermediary nodes of said physical path;
• and
• third instructions, executable by said first processor, for establishing said virtual path by causing a second processor to configure a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path.

A computer system comprising:

• a display device;
• a processor coupled to the display device;
• computer readable medium coupled to the processor;
• and
• computer code, encoded in the computer readable medium, for generating a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface includes a first plurality of screen objects representing nodes of an optical network, a second plurality of screen objects representing optical links between said nodes, wherein:
• a first one and a second one of said first plurality of screen objects are highlighted to indicate a source node and a destination node, respectively, and
• certain ones of said first plurality of screen objects and certain ones of said second plurality of screen objects are highlighted by said computer code to indicate a virtual path selected by said computer code.

An optical network comprising:

• a plurality of optical links;
• a plurality of nodes, each one of said plurality of nodes coupled to at least one other of said plurality of nodes by at least one of said plurality of optical links, wherein said nodes are configured to provision a virtual path between a first node and a second node of said plurality of nodes by virtue of being configured to:
• identify said first node and said second node of said plurality of nodes,
• discover a physical path from said node to said second node by virtue of being configured to automatically identify any intermediary nodes of said physical path, and
• establish said virtual path by virtue of being configured to configure a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path.

An optical network comprising:

• a plurality of optical links;
• a plurality of nodes, each one of said plurality of nodes coupled to at least one other of said plurality of nodes by at least one of said plurality of optical links, wherein said nodes are configured to restore a virtual path in said optical network, said virtual path being provisioned on a physical path between a first and a second node of said plurality of nodes by virtue of being configured to:
• discover an alternate physical path from said first node to said second node by virtue of being configured to automatically identify nodes of said alternate physical path, and
• re-establish said virtual path by virtue of being configured to configure a set of connections between said nodes of said alternate physical path.

A network comprising:

• a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of optical links, wherein said plurality of nodes are configured to provision a virtual path between a first node and a second node of said plurality of nodes, wherein each of said plurality of nodes comprises:
• identifying means for identifying said first node and said second node of said plurality of nodes,
• discovering means for discovering a physical path from said node to said second node by automatically identifying any intermediary nodes of said physical path, and
• establishing means for establishing said virtual path by configuring a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path.