A method of operating a fault tolerant connection in a network is
described. The network includes a number of network elements and a number
of links. Each of the network elements is coupled to at least one other
of the network elements by at least one of the links. The method
identifies a first path and a second path. The first path is between a
first one of the network elements and a second one of the network
elements, as is the second path. Moreover, the first path and the second
path are disjoint. This disjointedness can be any difference between the
two paths (e.g., any combination of different network elements or links).
A packet is sent from the first one of the network elements via the first
path, while a duplicate packet is sent from the first one of the network
elements via the second path. The duplicate packet is a duplicate of the
packet. Once these packets have been sent, at least one of the packet and
the duplicate packet are received at the second one of the network
elements. If both the packet and the duplicate packet are received at the
second one of the network elements, one of the two is discarded (e.g., by
simply ignoring the last one received).