Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for enabling establishment of cross-domain services, including exchange of reachability information between domains, routing of services across domains, and differential labeling. The network element control and management planes are supplemented by additional components that enable the control and management planes of each domain to inter-communicate in a peer-to-peer manner. Adjacencies are established between domains, and service reachability information is exchanged between domains. Network Service Applications within the management planes can then establish services across the domains by inter-communicating.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for distributing service domain reachability information across domain boundaries, thereby allowing domain management systems to determine routing for cross-domain services even when the domains have different technologies or administrators. A Service Domain Manager within each domain advertises to neighbouring domains which services it supports. A domain which receives such advertisements forwards the advertisement on to other domains. Each SDM builds a routing information table which specifies the service, the domain, the next hop, and optionally user defined metrics. The routing information table does not include end-point addresses, in order to keep the size of the table manageable. In this way, the NMS of each domain obtains an end-to-end view of service routes.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for distributing labels between domains of different technologies or administrations, thereby facilitating establishment of cross-domain services. Each label includes a Service label having end-to-end consistency, and a Local label used by each domain in accordance with the domain's underlying technology.