Shared bandwidth reservation in PL, ATM, FR and IP/MPLS networks

A system for allocating communication capacity in a network link in a communications network, the system comprising:

• a memory to store machine readable instructions;
• and
• a processor to execute the instructions to:
• allocate a pool of communication capacity in the network link, the pool of communication capacity including spare capacity;
• and
• allocate a reserve service communication capacity from the spare capacity, while the reserve service communication capacity is allocated to accommodate a subsequent increase of communications associated with a service connection of a first user, the reserve service communication capacity is also available for restoration capacity associated with other service connections for other users different from the first user.

A tangible machine accessible storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to perform a method comprising:

• provisioning a pool of communication capacity in a network link, the pool of communication capacity including spare capacity;
• allocating from the spare capacity a reserve service communication capacity requested in a connection setup message, the reserve service communication capacity being available to accommodate a subsequent increase of communications associated with the service connection for a first user;
• and
• while the reserve service communication capacity is allocated for the first service connection for the first user, provisioning the reserve service communication capacity to be available for restoration capacity associated with a service connection for a second user.