Systems and methods for forwarding data in a communications network
First Claim
1. A communications network comprising:
- at least one control station configured to;
generate batches of forwarding tables, each batch of forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables, andforward the batches of forwarding tables; and
a plurality of network nodes, each network node being associated with one or more outbound and inbound links and configured to;
receive a batch of forwarding tables from the at least one control station,install the primary forwarding table from the batch as a current forwarding table,detect that a quality of one of an associated outbound and inbound link has changed,in response to detecting the quality change, generate a message instructing other nodes of the plurality of network nodes to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the detected link, the backup forwarding table being selected from the plurality of backup forwarding tables received at each respective node, andtransmit the message to the other nodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communications network (100) includes at least one control station (160) and a group of network nodes (110, 120, 140). The at least one control station (160) generates batches of forwarding tables (300), where each batch of forwarding tables (300) includes a primary forwarding table (305) and a group of backup forwarding tables (310), and forwards the batches of forwarding tables (300). Each of the network nodes (110, 120, 140) is associated with one or more outbound and inbound links and is configured to receive a batch of forwarding tables (300) from the at least one control station (160) and install the primary forwarding table (305) from the batch (300) as a current forwarding table. Each network node (110, 120, 140) is further configured to detect that a quality of one of an outbound and inbound link has changed, generate a message (900) instructing other nodes of the group of network nodes (110, 120, 140) to switch to a backup forwarding table (310) in response to detecting the quality change, and transmit the message (900) to the other nodes.
144 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A communications network comprising:
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at least one control station configured to; generate batches of forwarding tables, each batch of forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables, and forward the batches of forwarding tables; and a plurality of network nodes, each network node being associated with one or more outbound and inbound links and configured to; receive a batch of forwarding tables from the at least one control station, install the primary forwarding table from the batch as a current forwarding table, detect that a quality of one of an associated outbound and inbound link has changed, in response to detecting the quality change, generate a message instructing other nodes of the plurality of network nodes to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the detected link, the backup forwarding table being selected from the plurality of backup forwarding tables received at each respective node, and transmit the message to the other nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A control station in a communications network comprising a plurality of nodes, the control station comprising:
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a memory configured to store topology information for the communications network; and a processor configured to; generate a batch of forwarding tables for each of the plurality of nodes based on the topology information, each batch of forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables for a corresponding one of the plurality of nodes, cause each batch of forwarding tables to be transmitted to the corresponding one of the plurality of nodes, and receive a message from at least one of the plurality of the nodes that identifies a link, the message instructing other nodes in the network to switch to one of the plurality of backup forwarding tables associated with the link at each respective node. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a communications network, a node that routes data in the communications network, comprising:
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a memory configured to store a first primary forwarding table and a first plurality of backup forwarding tables; and a processor configured to; receive a batch of forwarding tables from a remote network device, the batch of forwarding tables including a second primary forwarding table and a second plurality of backup forwarding tables, install the second primary forwarding table as a current primary forwarding table, and replace the first plurality of backup forwarding tables with the second plurality of backup forwarding tables from the received batch. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. In a communications network, a node, associated with at least one outbound link and at least one inbound link, that transmits data in the communications network, the node comprising:
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a memory configured to store a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; and a processor configured to; detect a change in quality in one of the at least one outbound link and the at least one inbound link, generate a message that identifies the detected one outbound link or inbound link, and cause the message to be transmitted to one or more other nodes in the communications network, the message instructing the one or more other nodes to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the identified one outbound link or inbound link, the backup forwarding table being selected from the plurality of backup forwarding tables stored at each respective node. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for routing data in a communications network that comprises a plurality of nodes, comprising:
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generating, for each of the plurality of nodes, a unique set of forwarding tables, the unique set of forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; forwarding the unique set of forwarding tables to each of the plurality of nodes, the plurality of backup forwarding tables allowing each of the plurality of nodes to continue routing data in the communications network after an occurrence of at least one event, and receiving a message from at least one of the plurality of the nodes that identifies a link, the message instructing other nodes in the network to switch to one of the plurality of backup forwarding tables associated with the link at each respective node. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer-readable medium containing a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform a method for routing data in a communications network, comprising:
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generating, for each of a plurality of network nodes, a set of forwarding tables, the set of forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; forwarding the set of forwarding tables to each of the plurality of nodes, the plurality of backup forwarding tables allowing each of the plurality of nodes to continue routing data in the communications network following a failure of or degradation in a network node or link, and receiving a message from at least one of the plurality of the nodes that identifies a link, the message instructing other nodes in the network to switch to one of the plurality of backup forwarding tables associated with the link at each respective node.
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36. A method for routing data in a communications network, the method comprising:
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receiving a group of forwarding tables, the forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; installing the primary forwarding table as a current forwarding table for routing data in the communications network; storing the plurality of backup forwarding tables; detecting a change in quality in an outbound or inbound link associated with a node in the network; in response to detecting the quality change, generating a message that identifies the detected link; and transmitting the message to one or more other nodes in the communications network, the message instructing the one or more other nodes to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the detected link. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A computer-readable medium containing a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform a method for routing data in a communications network, comprising:
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receiving a group of forwarding tables, the forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; installing the primary forwarding table as a current forwarding table for routing data in the communications network; and storing the plurality of backup forwarding tables; detecting a change in quality in an outbound or inbound link associated with a node in the network; in response to detecting the quality change, generating a message that identifies the detected link; and transmitting the message to one or more other nodes in the communications network, the message instructing the one or more other nodes to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the detected link.
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41. In a node comprising at least one outbound link and at least one inbound link, a method for routing data in a communications network, comprising:
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receiving a group of forwarding tables, the forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; detecting a change in quality of one of the outbound link and the inbound link; generating a message in response to the detecting, the message identifying the one outbound or inbound link; and transmitting the message to at least one other node in the communications network, the message causing the at least one other node to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the identified one outbound or inbound link. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 46)
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45. A computer-readable medium containing a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform a method for routing data in a communications network, comprising:
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receiving a group of forwarding tables, the forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; detecting a change from a first quality to a second quality of one of an outbound link and an inbound link; generating a message in response to the detecting, the message identifying the one outbound or inbound link; and sending the message to nodes in the communications network, the message causing the nodes to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the identified one outbound or inbound link.
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47. A system for routing data in a communications network, comprising:
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means for receiving a group of forwarding tables, the forwarding tables including a primary forwarding table and a plurality of backup forwarding tables; means for determining that a quality of one of an outbound link and an inbound link has changed; means for generating a message in response to determining the quality change, the message identifying the one outbound or inbound link; and means for sending the message to at least one other node in the communications network, the message instructing the at least one other node to switch to a backup forwarding table associated with the identified one outbound or inbound link.
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Specification