METHOD TO DO FAST TRAFFIC SWITCHOVER BASED ON SERVER LAYER STATUS
First Claim
1. A method, by a node operative in a data communication network, of rapidly forwarding data packets along one of redundant paths, comprising:
- receiving a data packet to be forwarded on a primary or secondary path to a destination, the data packet classified into a server layer defined by physical facilities utilized by the primary path;
deriving a forwarding table index from the received data packet;
indexing a forwarding table using the forwarding table index and obtaining a server layer index from a forwarding table entry;
indexing a server layer status table using the server layer index to determine whether the primary path associated with the server layer is functional; and
if the primary path is not functional, forwarding the data packet along the secondary path toward the destination.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus perform fast traffic switchover based on server layer status. To do fast traffic switchover when there is server layer failure, each forwarding entry in a forwarding table contains an index to server layer status table, wherein traffic is associated to a service layer based on the physical communication resources used by the primary path. The server layer status table contains status code for all instances of server layers in the system. One status code indicates the server layer status is normal, and primary paths may be used to carry client layer traffic. Another status code indicates abnormal condition on the server layer, and that primary paths cannot be used to carry client layer traffic. When the forwarding entry is used to forward incoming packets, the server layer status code is checked. If the status code indicates normal functionality, the failover object is checked to route the traffic on either the primary or secondary path. If the status code indicates the server layer is non-functional, the forwarding entry corresponding to the secondary path is used to forward incoming packets. When a failure is detected, or a known failure is cured, the server layer status table is updated.
64 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method, by a node operative in a data communication network, of rapidly forwarding data packets along one of redundant paths, comprising:
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receiving a data packet to be forwarded on a primary or secondary path to a destination, the data packet classified into a server layer defined by physical facilities utilized by the primary path; deriving a forwarding table index from the received data packet; indexing a forwarding table using the forwarding table index and obtaining a server layer index from a forwarding table entry; indexing a server layer status table using the server layer index to determine whether the primary path associated with the server layer is functional; and if the primary path is not functional, forwarding the data packet along the secondary path toward the destination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A node operative in a data communication network, and further operative to forward packets along one of redundant paths toward a destination, the node comprising:
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a plurality of line cards, each line card including a processor, memory operative to store a forwarding table and a server layer table, and a forwarding chip; and a control board including a processor operative to exchange control and management messages with each line card processor and a switching fabric operative to direct data packets between each line card forwarding chip; wherein the processor on a line card receiving a data packet, the data packet classified into a server layer defined by physical facilities comprising primary and secondary paths toward a destination, is operative to derive a forwarding table index from the received data packet; index a forwarding table stored in memory using the forwarding table index to obtain a server layer index from a forwarding table entry; index a server layer status table using the server layer index to determine whether the primary path associated with the server layer is functional; and if the primary path is not functional, forward the data packet along the secondary path toward the destination. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification