METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING FAST REROUTE OF A PACKET THAT MAY BE FORWARDED ON ONE OF A PLURALITY OF EQUAL COST MULTIPATH ROUTES THROUGH A NETWORK
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method in which a network element performs operations providing fast reroute of a packet that may be forwarded on one of a plurality of Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) routes through a network, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a packet by a Forwarding Data Unit (FDU) in a data plane of a network element, wherein said unicast packet is routed at L3, and wherein ECMP is enabled for a next hop for said unicast packet;
selecting an ECMP route for forwarding the packet to a destination port;
performing a lookup in a port state table maintained by the FDU to determine an available local port for said ECMP route that is in an UP state for the destination, and if no local port is UP, then performing a lookup in the port state table to determine an available remote port that is in an UP state for the selected ECMP route; and
if no available port is determined for the selected ECMP route, selecting another ECMP route if another ECMP route is available and repeating said performing the lookup in the port state table until a port is found for the packet.
20 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing fast reroute of a packet that may be forwarded on one of a plurality of Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) routes through a network is presented. A packet is received by a Forwarding Data Unit (FDU) in a data plane of a network element. The unicast packet is routed at L3, and ECMP is enabled for a next hop for the unicast packet. An ECMP route is selected for forwarding the packet to a destination port. A lookup is performed in a port state table maintained by the FDU to determine an available local port for said ECMP route that is in an UP state for the destination, and if no local port is UP, then a lookup is performed in the port state table to determine an available remote port that is in an UP state for the selected ECMP route.
59 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A computer-implemented method in which a network element performs operations providing fast reroute of a packet that may be forwarded on one of a plurality of Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) routes through a network, the method comprising the steps of:
-
receiving a packet by a Forwarding Data Unit (FDU) in a data plane of a network element, wherein said unicast packet is routed at L3, and wherein ECMP is enabled for a next hop for said unicast packet; selecting an ECMP route for forwarding the packet to a destination port; performing a lookup in a port state table maintained by the FDU to determine an available local port for said ECMP route that is in an UP state for the destination, and if no local port is UP, then performing a lookup in the port state table to determine an available remote port that is in an UP state for the selected ECMP route; and if no available port is determined for the selected ECMP route, selecting another ECMP route if another ECMP route is available and repeating said performing the lookup in the port state table until a port is found for the packet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A network element comprising:
-
a memory; a processor; a communications interface; an interconnection mechanism coupling the memory, the processor and the communications interface; and wherein the memory is encoded with an application providing fast reroute of a packet that may be forwarded on one of a plurality of Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) routes through a network, that when performed on the processor, provides a process for processing information, the process causing the network element to perform the operations of; receiving a packet by a Forwarding Data Unit (FDU) in a data plane of a network element, wherein said unicast packet is routed at L3, and wherein ECMP is enabled for a next hop for said unicast packet; selecting an ECMP route for forwarding the packet to a destination port; performing a lookup in a port state table maintained by the FDU to determine an available local port for said ECMP route that is in an UP state for the destination, and if no local port is UP, then performing a lookup in the port state table to determine an available remote port that is in an UP state for the selected ECMP route; and if no available port is determined for the selected ECMP route, selecting another ECMP route if another ECMP route is available and repeating said performing the lookup in the port state table until a port is found for the packet. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A computer readable storage medium having computer readable code thereon for providing fast reroute of a packet that may be forwarded on one of a plurality of Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) routes through a network, the medium including instructions in which a network element performs operations comprising:
-
receiving a packet by a Forwarding Data Unit (FDU) in a data plane of a network element, wherein said unicast packet is routed at L3, and wherein ECMP is enabled for a next hop for said unicast packet; selecting an ECMP route for forwarding the packet to a destination port; performing a lookup in a port state table maintained by the FDU to determine an available local port for said ECMP route that is in an UP state for the destination, and if no local port is UP, then performing a lookup in the port state table to determine an available remote port that is in an UP state for the selected ECMP route; and if no available port is determined for the selected ECMP route, selecting another ECMP route if another ECMP route is available and repeating said performing the lookup in the port state table until a port is found for the packet. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
Specification