Label switched path oam wrapper

An intermediate node between a source node and a destination node of a first label switched path (LSP), the source node, destination node and intermediate node being capable of processing OAM DTUs, the intermediate node comprising:

• an interface for receiving a DTU, the intermediate node being the defined end point of a second LSP that comprises a segment of the first LSP;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• identify that a top level label of the DTU is a label assigned to the second LSP;
• determine that the DTU has been received on the second LSP based on the label assigned to the second LSP;
• and
• in response to identifying the label assigned to the second LSP, determine that a label in the DTU following the label assigned to the second LSP is a label indicating the DTU is an OAM DTU.

A system for measuring the performance of a segment of a first Label Switched Path (LSP) in a multi-protocol label switched (MPLS) network, the system comprising:

• a source and destination node of a first LSP that are capable of processing OAM DTUs;
• and
• an intermediate node that is capable of processing OAM DTUs and is the defined end point of a second LSP that comprises a segment of the first LSP, the intermediate node configured to:
• receive a DTU;
• identify that a top level label of the DTU is a label assigned to the second LSP;
• determine that the DTU has been received on the second LSP based on the label assigned to the second LSP;
• and
• in response to identifying the label assigned to the second LSP, determine that the next label in the DTU following the label assigned to the second LSP is a label indicating the DTU is an OAM DTU.

A method of segmenting a predefined path through a network that only allows unidirectional transmission, the method comprising:

• a) determining which nodes on the network are on the predefined path;
• b) defining segment nodes that define beginning and ending nodes for a network segment;
• and
• c) configuring a network segment between beginning and ending nodes by instructing intervening nodes on how to forward data transmission units configured for that network segment.

A network router for routing data transmission units (DTUs) in a domain which only allows unidirectional flow, the router including:

• a receiving module for receiving DTUs;
• a transmitting module for transmitting DTUs;
• a switch core module placed between the receiving module and the transmitting module for routing DTUs between the receiving and the transmitting modules;
• and
• a diagnostic module for determining a performance of a network path of the domain, the diagnostic module being for processing specialized DTUs received by the receiving module and for creating specialized DTUs to be transmitted by the transmitting module,
• wherein the router executes computer readable and computer executable instructions for implementing a method for determining the performance of the network path, the method including:
• a) if the network router is a source node for the network path, transmitting the specialized DTUs to a destination node;
• and
• b) if the network router is a destination node for the network path, receiving the specialized DTUs and performing an action chosen from the group consisting of:
• b1) calculating the performance of the network path based on data contained in the specialized DTU;
• and
• b2) determining if there is a fault on the network path based on whether a specialized DTU is received within a given amount of time.