A transmission pipe configuration method, including receiving a device address of a first network domain, a device address of a second network domain from, generating an identifier of a transmission pipe based on the device address of the first network domain and the device address of the second network domain, where the transmission pipe connects a first border transport device and a second border transport device, and sending to the first border transport device, the identifier of the transmission pipe and the device address that is of the second network domain and that corresponds to the transmission pipe. The identifier of the transmission pipe and the device address are used to generate a forwarding table of the first border transport device, the forwarding table indicating a forwarding relationship where service data is forwarded from the first network domain to the second network domain using the transmission pipe.

An Optical Transport Network (OTN) fault localization method, an iterative OTN fault localization method, and an OTN network use OTN tandem connection monitors operating in a Monitor mode to provide fault localization. The methods and network use TCMs for fault localization that can be performed manually or automatically to isolate a fault in a multi-domain OTN network to a particular link, switching fabric, or transport function. Additionally, a roles-based assignment scheme is presented for automatically assigning TCM levels between domains and links in multi-domain OTN networks. The fault localization methods enable fault localization in an automated and non-intrusive manner.

An Optical channel Data Unit flex (ODUflex) resizing method, node, and network include determining that the ODUflex needs resizing, wherein the ODUflex is configured in the network on a current path between the node and a second node in the network; when the resizing is a decrease, reducing a size of the ODUflex by i) a resize decrease operation using a control plane or ii) a Link Aggregation Group and Make-Before-Break operation; and, when the resizing is an increase, increasing a size of the ODUflex by i) a resize increase operation using a control plane or ii) a Link Aggregation Group and Make-Before-Break operation. The method provides hitless resizing without using ITU Recommendation G.7044/Y.1347 (10/11) and can perform the reducing or the increasing changing bandwidth of the ODUflex by approximately 100 G in less than a second.

In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes obtaining service data; mapping the service data into a payload area of a service frame, mapping the service frame into a payload area of a data frame, and sending the data frame. The service frame includes an overhead area and the payload area; the overhead area of the service frame includes a plurality of frame header indication overhead fields; each of the plurality of frame header indication overhead fields comprises a first field; and the first field represents a ranking of each frame header indication overhead field in the plurality of frame header indication overhead fields.