Method and system for splitting and sharing routing information among several routers acting as a single border router

• US 20040039840A1
• Filed: 07/17/2003
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lund, Arnaud, Dispensa, Jean-Claude
• Granted Patent: US 8,438,302 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/033 by updating distance vector protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/586 of virtual routers

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for splitting and sharing routing information among several routers within a group of routers acting as a single border router in an Internet protocol (IP) network, each router comprising a routing table. The method, for use in a router of the group, comprises the steps of: selecting routes in the routing table of the router; requesting other routers of the group to replace, in their routing tables, each selected route with the router as next hop; associating at least part of-non selected routes, each one with another router of the group; and removing and replacing, in the routing table, each-non selected route associated with a router of the group by the associated router as next hop.

Claims

1. A method for splitting and sharing routing information among several routers within a group of routers acting as a single border router in an Internet protocol (IP) network, each router comprising a routing table, said method, for use in a router of the group, comprising the steps of:

selecting routes in the routing table of the router;

requesting other routers of the group to replace, in their routing tables, each selected route with the router as next hop;

associating at least part of non-selected routes, each one with another router of the group; and

removing and replacing in the routing table, each non-selected route associated with a router of the group by the associated router as next hop.

2. The method according to the claim 1, comprising the further step of forwarding IP traffic corresponding to a non-selected route, to the router associated with said route within the routing table.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of requesting comprises the further steps of receiving from other routers the IP traffic corresponding to the selected routes;

and routing said IP traffic.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of associating comprises the step of receiving from each other router of the group means for associating at least part of non selected routes, each one with another router of the group.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting routes in the routing table comprises the further step of selecting contiguous IP addresses within a given address range.

6. The method according claim 1, comprising the preliminary steps of establishing sessions with other routers of the group;

and creating a list of routers of the group.

7. The method according to claim 1, comprising the preliminary step of establishing sessions with other border routers.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting routes comprises the preliminary step of comparing the size of the routing table with a predefined threshold.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein routers within the group exchange routing information using Border Gateway Protocol.

10. A router comprising means adapted for carrying out the steps of the method according to claim 1.

11. A computer program product comprising instructions for carrying out the method according to claim 1 when said computer program product is executed on a router.