MONITORING LINK AGGREGATION LINKS

• US 20110058487A1
• Filed: 11/12/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Wellbrock, Glenn, Lee, James D., Chiu, Howard H., Pitchforth, Donald JR., Schell, Richard C., Bencheck, Michael U., Kotrla, Scott R., Turlington, Matthew W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,630,188 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0659 by isolating or reconfiguring faulty entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0805 by checking availability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/41 by acting on aggregated flows or links
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A device detects a signal condition for a link aggregation group (LAG) link, compares the detected signal condition to a signal threshold range, and enables one of a disabled state or a disabled timer state for the LAG link if the detected signal condition is outside the signal threshold range.

Claims

1-25. -25. (canceled)

26. A device comprising:

a plurality of links; and

a processor to;

define a link aggregation group (LAG) from two or more of the plurality of links, where the LAG arranges two or more of the plurality of links into a logical port,

monitor a signal condition for a LAG link, of the two or more of the plurality of links in the LAG,

disabling, when the monitored is outside a particular signal threshold range, the LAG link, and

reactivating, when the monitored is within the signal threshold range, the disabled LAG link.

27. The device of claim 26, where the processor is further to:

generate an alert for the LAG link if the monitored signal condition is outside the signal threshold range.

28. The device of claim 26, where the signal condition includes a signal degrade condition and the signal threshold range includes a signal degrade threshold range.

29. The device of claim 28, where the signal degrade condition is detected based on one of errored frames or a code violation rate.

30. The device of claim 26, where the signal condition includes a signal failure condition and the signal threshold range includes a signal failure threshold range.

31. The device of claim 30, where the signal failure condition is detected based on one of errored frames or a code violation rate.

32. The device of claims 31, where the processor further includes:

a disabled timer to disable the LAG link for a particular duration of time, where the processor is reactivate the LAG link after expiration of the particular duration of time.

33. The device of claims 32, where the disabled timer further includes:

a hold-up timer to provide a hold-up time, where the processor prevents new traffic from being sent along the LAG link, after the LAG link is disabled, for at least the hold-up -time.

34. The device of claims 32, where the disabled timer further includes:

a hold-down timer to provide a hold-down time, where the processor prevents new traffic from being sent along the LAG link, after the LAG link is reactivated, for at least the hold-down-time.

35. A method comprising:

detecting, by a network device, a signal condition for a link aggregation group (LAG) link, where an associated LAG arranges multiple links, including the LAG link, into a logical port;

comparing, by the network device, the detected signal condition to a signal threshold range;

enabling, by the network device, one of a disabled state or a disabled timer state for the LAG link when the detected signal condition is outside the signal threshold range; and

ending, by the network device, the enabled one of the disabled state or the disabled timer state when the detected signal condition is within the signal threshold range.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

generating an alert for the LAG link if the detected signal condition is outside the signal threshold range.

37. The method of claim 36, where the signal condition includes a signal degrade condition and the signal threshold range includes a signal degrade threshold range.

38. The method of claim 37, where the signal degrade condition is detected based on one of errored frames or a code violation rate.

39. The method of claim 35, where the signal condition further includes a signal failure condition and the signal threshold range includes a signal failure threshold range.

40. The method of claim 39, where the signal failure condition is based on errored frames.

41. The method of claim 35, where enabling one of the disabled state or the disabled timer state includes:

preventing new traffic from being sent along the LAG link for at least a particular period of time.

42. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

identifying one or more physical links in the LAG link associated with the detected signal condition; and

performing maintenance on the identified one or more physical links during the enabled one of the disabled state or the disabled timer state.

43. The method of claim 42, where ending the enabled one of the disabled state or the disabled timer state includes:

preventing new traffic from being sent along the LAG link after performing the maintenance on the identified one or more physical links.

44. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that are executable on a processor of the network device, the stored instructions comprising:

instructions to monitor a signal condition for a link aggregation group (LAG) link, where an associated LAG arranges multiple links, including the LAG link, into a logical port;

instructions to enable one of a disabled state or a disabled timer state for the LAG link when the detected signal condition is outside a signal threshold range; and

instructions to end the enabled one of the disabled state or the disabled timer state when the detected signal condition is within the signal threshold range.

45. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 44, where the stored instructions further include:

instructions to perform maintenance on the LAG link; and

instructions to prevent new traffic from being sent along the LAG link, after performing the maintenance on the LAG link, for a particular duration of time.

46. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 45, where the stored instructions further include:

instructions to allow the new traffic to be sent along the LAG link prior to the expiration of the particular duration of time in response to detecting that more than a particular number of the links in the LAG are in one of a disabled state or a disabled timer state.