Method and apparatus for providing an interface between a plurality of frame relay networks

A method of initializing a resilient network-to-network interface (RNNI) between a master node in a first frame relay network and a slave node in a second frame relay network, wherein the RNNI comprises a plurality of data links connecting the master and slave nodes, the method comprising the steps of:

• operating an independent instance of a Link Integrity Verification (LIV) routine on each of the data links to determine the status of the data links;
• detecting which of the data links have received an UP status from the LIV routine;
• designating one of the data links with an UP status as ACTIVE and the remaining data links as INACTIVE;
• and
• sending a PVC poll status message from the master node to the slave node over the ACTIVE link, wherein the slave node recognizes the ACTIVE link on receipt of the PVC poll status message.

A computer program resident on a computer for operating a resilient network-to-network interface (RNNI) between a first frame relay network and a second frame relay network connected by a plurality of data links, the computer program comprising:

• a first program code for causing the computer to operate an independent instance of a Link Integrity Verification (LIV) routine on each of the data links to determine the status of each of the data links;
• a second program code for causing the computer to detect which of the data links have received an UP status from the LIV routine;
• a third program code for designating one of the data links with the UP status as ACTIVE and the remaining data links as INACTIVE;
• and
• a fourth program code for sending a PVC poll status message over the ACTIVE link.

A network-to-network interface (NNI) comprising:

• a plurality of data links connecting a master node in a first frame relay network to a slave node in a second frame relay network, the plurality of data links comprising:
• a monitor for monitoring the status of each of the data links;
• a detector for detecting which of the data links have received an UP status from the monitor;
• a designator for designating one of the data links with an UP status as ACTIVE and designating the remaining data links as INACTIVE;
• and
• a PVC poll status message sent from the master node to the slave node over the ACTIVE link, wherein the slave node recognizes the ACTIVE link on receipt of the PVC poll status message.