Improved p-cycle restoration techniques using a signaling protocol are disclosed. For example, a technique for use in at least one node of a data communication network for recovering from a failure, wherein the data communication network includes multiple nodes and multiple links for connecting the multiple nodes, comprises the following steps/operations. Notification of the failure is obtained at the at least one node. A determination is made whether the failure is a single link failure or one of a node failure and a multiple link failure. A pre-configured protection cycle (p-cycle) plan is implemented when the failure is a single link failure but not when the failure is one of a node failure and a multiple link failure, such that two independent paths in the network are not connected when implementing the pre-configured protection cycle plan. Implementation of the pre-configured protection cycle plan may further comprise the node sending at least one message to another node in the data communication network and/or receiving at least one message from another node in the data communication network.