SUMMARYManagement of long-distance, high-speed optical backbones spanning multiple administrative domains requires new solutions for challenging tasks. In particular, it is not trivial to negotiate, monitor and continuously enforce the required quality of service (QoS) for applications that span multiple domains. This paper proposes GigaManP2P: a novel peer-to-peer (P2P) management architecture for high-speed QoSaware backbones. GigaManP2P peers provide management services in a ubiquitous fashion through modules that interface with both the communication infrastructure and network users. In particular, we describe management services for on inter-domain QoS monitoring and resilient routing. After detecting a QoS constraint violation trend, a proactive rerouting strategy is triggered based on redundant virtual circuits, allowing both full and partial rerouting. The P2P overlay implementation is the basis for allowing transparent communication across autonomous systems. Experimental results showing the overhead of the P2P infrastructure in comparison to raw Simple Network Management Protocol, and the performance of the rerouting strategy, are presented.