Packet/octet loss measurement for bridging domains

An apparatus for measuring packet loss for Transparent LAN Services (TLS) connections in a metro Ethernet network (MEN), comprising:

• packet receiving means for receiving packets from a client;
• marking means for marking a received packet if only one copy of the packet is received and for marking only a single copy of a received packet if more than one copy of a packet is received, wherein remaining copies of the received packet are unmarked;
• an ingress counter operative to be incremented once for each marked packet received at ingress;
• a bridge operative to forward all unmarked packets and copies of unmarked packets as unmarked, and to forward only a single copy of a marked packet as marked, wherein remaining copies of the marked packet are forwarded as unmarked;
• and
• an egress counter operative to be incremented only for marked packets exiting a TLS connection.

A bridge for forwarding marked packets over Transparent LAN Services (TLS) connections in a metro Ethernet network (MEN), comprising:

• packet receiving means for receiving a plurality of packets from a source;
• first means for marking a received packet if only one copy of the packet is received and for marking only a single copy of a received packet if more than one copy of a packet is received, wherein remaining copies of the received packet are unmarked;
• second means for counting only marked packets at ingress;
• third means for receiving unmarked packets at a bridge and forwarding any copies of unmarked packets as unmarked;
• fourth means for receiving marked packets at said bridge and forwarding only a single copy of a marked packet as marked wherein all remaining copies of the marked packet are forwarded as unmarked;
• and
• fifth for counting only marked packets at egress.

An edge switch for use in an Ethernet based network, comprising:

• a plurality of user ports for interfacing said edge switch to one or more users;
• a plurality of network ports for interfacing said edge switch to one or more communication links;
• a packet processor comprising ingress packet processing means and egress packet processing means;
• a loss measurement module for measuring packet and/or octet loss for Transparent LAN Services (TLS) connections in a metro Ethernet network (MEN), said loss measurement module comprising:
• marking means for marking a received packet if only one copy of the packet is received and for marking only a single copy of a received packet if more than one copy of a packet is received, wherein remaining copies of the received packet are unmarked;
• an ingress counter operative to be incremented once for each marked packet received at ingress;
• a bridge operative to forward all unmarked packets and copies of unmarked packets as unmarked, and to forward only a single copy of a marked packet as marked, wherein remaining copies of the marked packet are forwarded as unmarked;
• and
• an egress counter operative to be incremented only for marked packets exiting a TLS connection.

An edge switch for use in an Ethernet based network, comprising:

• a plurality of user ports for interfacing said edge switch to one or more users;
• a plurality of network ports operative to interface said edge switch to one or more communication links;
• a packet processor comprising ingress packet processing means and egress packet processing means;
• a loss measurement module operative to measure packet and/or octet loss for Transparent LAN Services (TLS) connections in a metro Ethernet network (MEN), said loss measurement module comprising:
• marking means for marking a received packet if only one copy of the packet is received and for marking only a single copy of a received packet if more than one copy of a packet is received, wherein remaining copies of the received packet are unmarked;
• an ingress counter operative to be incremented once for each marked packet received at ingress;
• an egress counter operative to be incremented only for marked packets exiting a TLS connection.