Methods and systems for automatically configuring network monitoring system

A computer-implemented network monitoring communications protocol for communicating network monitoring messages between a routing node being monitored and a network monitoring processor, the computer-implemented communications protocol comprising:

• (a) computer code adapted to execute on a network routing node for automatically sending network monitoring service request messages to a network monitoring processor;
• and
• (b) computer code adapted to execute on a network monitoring processor for receiving service request messages and formulating service response messages for granting or denying network monitoring service requests based on the service request messages, wherein, in response to receiving a response message granting network monitoring service, the computer code on the routing node establishes a connection with a network monitoring processor that sent the response message and begins sending signaling message copies to the network monitoring processor over the connection.