Control-Plane Interface Between Layers in a Multilayer Network

A packet switching device, comprising:

• one or more processing elements;
• memory;
• a plurality of interfaces configured to send and receive packets within a client-layer network of a multilayer network;
• an optical interface configured to communicate with an optical node of an optical server-layer network of the multilayer network;
• and
• one or more packet switching mechanisms configured to switch packets among the plurality of interfaces;
• wherein said one or more processing elements are configured to perform operations, including:
• requesting, using an extension of Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), an optical communications path through the optical node and one or more other nodes of the optical server-layer network between the packet switching device and a second packet switching device in the client-layer network, which includes specifying one or more particular server-layer characteristics required of the optical communications path.

An optical node, comprising:

• one or more processing elements;
• memory;
• an optical interface configured to send and receive optical frames within an optical server-layer network of a multilayer network providing communications paths between a first and a second packet switching devices of a client-layer network of the multilayer network;
• and
• a user network optical interface configured to communicate data and signaling information with the first packet switching;
• wherein said one or more processing elements are configured to perform operations, including:
• signaling, using an extension of Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), one or more particular server-layer characteristics of an existing optical communications path through the optical node and one or more other nodes of the optical server-layer network between the first and the second packet switching devices.