Adaptive timing of update messages transmitted by routers employing the border gateway protocol

• US 20060182038A1
• Filed: 02/15/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nalawade, Gargi, Shah, Himanshu, Shaikh, Mukhtiar, Moizuddin, Muhammad
• Granted Patent: US 7,430,176 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/028 Dynamic adaptation of the update intervals, e.g. event-triggered updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/033 by updating distance vector protocols

Abstract

A method for border nodes using the Border Gateway Protocol to advertise path updates to peer nodes in other domains involves calculating the update interval for each advertisement of an update of the same path to the same peer and advertising the update when the interval has expired. The update interval is the sum of the standard update interval and the expired portions of update intervals applied to previous unadvertised updates.

Claims

1. A method of advertising network path updates to one or more peer routers, the method comprising the steps of:

calculating an update interval for each advertisement, wherein each update interval is the sum of a standard interval and update interval increments applied to all previous unadvertised updates of the same path to the same peer;

selecting each path update whose update interval has expired; and

advertising the selected path update to that peer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of calculating the update interval comprises the step of recording in an array an entry for each update to be advertised, the entry including a time stamp corresponding to a time the entry was recorded

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting each update comprises the step of scanning the array for any entries whose update intervals have expired.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the update increments are equal to the standard interval.

5. A system for advertising network path updates to one or more peer routers, the system comprising:

a router having a route processor adapted to calculate an update interval for each advertisement;

wherein each update interval is the sum of a standard interval and update interval increments applied to all previous unadvertised updates of the same path to the same peer; and

wherein the route processor is further adapted to select each path update whose update interval has expired and advertise the selected path update.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the route processor is further adapted to calculate the update interval by recording in an array an entry for each update to be advertised, the entry including a time stamp corresponding to a time the entry was recorded.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the route processor is further adapted to select each update by scanning the array for any entries whose update intervals have expired The system of claim 6 wherein the update increments are equal to the standard interval.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the update increments are equal to the standard interval.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein the update increments are exponentially related so that the update interval increments increase as updates are recorded.