Fast LSP Alert Mechanism

A method performed on a network element employing Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) to promulgate an alert to each Label Switch Router (LSR) along a Label Switch Path (LSP) by forwarding a labeled packet serving as an alert packet generated by an LSR in the LSP, the method including receiving the labeled packet by the network element from another LSR in the LSP, determining whether the labeled packet is the alert packet by checking a time to live value in an MPLS label header of the labeled packet, determining whether the labeled packet is an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) packet based on a presence of a generic associated channel label, copying the labeled packet including a label stack of the labeled packet and forwarding the labeled packet to a next LSR in the LSP, whereby the latency in promulgating the alert to each of the LSRs in the LSP is reduced.