METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMIC TRACK ALLOCATION IN A NETWORK

A method for dynamic track allocation in a network comprising accessing a message to be routed to a target node; receiving from a path computation element (PCE), a track from the first node to the target node, wherein the track includes at least any intermediate nodes that provide a path from the first node to the target node, wherein the track comprises one or more allocated link resources to the first node, to any intermediate nodes, and to the target node; assigning a track identifier and an expiration time to the defined track; appending the assigned link resources, expiration time and track identifier to the message; and transmitting the message from the first node to the target node, wherein transmitting causes subsequent messages with the same assigned track identifier to be routed through the network along the same route and using the link resources configured by the message.