METHOD ENABLING FAST SWITCHING BETWEEN MULTICAST TREES
First Claim
1. A method, stored in a memory and executing on a processor or a specific purpose network processor, for switching a communication path between multicast trees, said method comprising:
- generating a first count, during a predefined interval, of communication path failure detection packets arriving at a leaf node;
generating a second count, during said predefined interval, of said communication path failure detection packets and other packets arriving at said leaf node; and
comparing said first count and said second count and if said second count is within a predefined value of said first count then acting to switch said communication path to a secondary multicast tree.
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Abstract
Presented are a system and method of detecting a multicast tree link failure and performing a fast switch from the failed multicast tree communication path to a secondary multicast tree communication path. The methods are suitable for leaf nodes in a multiprotocol label switching network. The method generates a count of communication path failure detection packets and a count of communication path failure detection packets plus other packets and compares the counts to determine the status of the link. The system includes two counter components and a comparison component.
7 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method, stored in a memory and executing on a processor or a specific purpose network processor, for switching a communication path between multicast trees, said method comprising:
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generating a first count, during a predefined interval, of communication path failure detection packets arriving at a leaf node; generating a second count, during said predefined interval, of said communication path failure detection packets and other packets arriving at said leaf node; and comparing said first count and said second count and if said second count is within a predefined value of said first count then acting to switch said communication path to a secondary multicast tree. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A node on a network for minimizing the time required to switch a communication path between multicast trees, said node comprising:
a processor for executing computer instructions and a memory for storing said computer instructions wherein said computer instructions further comprise; a first counter component for counting the arrival of communication path failure packets at said node over a predefined interval; a second counter component for counting the arrival of said communication path failure packets and other packets arriving at said node over said predefined interval; and a comparison component for comparing a first count associated with said first counter component and a second count associated with said second counter component and sending a request to switch to a second multicast tree when the difference between said first count and said second count is a predefined value. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for protecting a communication path from a root node to a leaf node in a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network, said system comprising:
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a plurality of MPLS root nodes connected to a plurality of routers associated with a second network; a plurality of MPLS leaf nodes wherein each leaf node further comprises; a processor for executing computer instructions and a memory for storing said computer instructions wherein said computer instructions further comprise; a first counter component for counting the arrival of communication path failure packets at said node over a predefined interval; a second counter component for counting the arrival of said communication path failure packets and other packets arriving at said node over said predefined interval; and a comparison component for comparing a first count associated with said first counter component and a second count associated with said second counter component and sending a request to switch to a second multicast tree when said first count and said second count are within a predefined range; and a plurality of MPLS routers connecting said plurality of leaf nodes to said plurality of root nodes. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification