Impending control plane disruption indication using forwarding plane liveliness detection protocols
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- using, by a control plane of a network device, one or more routing protocols to exchange network topology information with one or more other network devices, the one or more other network devices including a peer network device;
programming, by the control plane of the network device, a packet forwarding component of the network device to forward packets in accordance with the network topology information;
detecting, by the packet forwarding component, that a disruption to operation of the control plane of the network device is impending, wherein the disruption to operation of the control plane compromises control plane communication between the control plane of the network device and the peer network device;
constructing, by the packet forwarding component of the network device, a liveliness detection message in accordance with a forwarding-plane liveliness detection protocol, wherein the liveliness detection message comprises an indication that the disruption to operation of the control plane is impending; and
outputting, by the packet forwarding component, the liveliness detection message to the peer network device in accordance with the forwarding plane liveliness detection protocol.
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Abstract
Techniques are described for providing an indication of an impending control plane disruption of a router using forwarding plane liveliness detection protocols. A forwarding plane of the router outputs liveliness detection messages that, when received by a peer router, provide an indication that the forwarding plane is operational and able to forward packets. When constructing the liveliness detection messages, the forwarding plane may embed additional information indicative of any impending disruption in the control plane of the network device. In this way, the forwarding plane of the transmitting router provides an indication to the peer router that, although currently operational, the control plane of the router may in the near term become non-operational. The peer router, in response to receiving an enhanced liveliness detection message indicating an impending control plane disruption, suppresses a recovery action otherwise triggered by a loss of communication with a control plane of the network device.
216 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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using, by a control plane of a network device, one or more routing protocols to exchange network topology information with one or more other network devices, the one or more other network devices including a peer network device; programming, by the control plane of the network device, a packet forwarding component of the network device to forward packets in accordance with the network topology information; detecting, by the packet forwarding component, that a disruption to operation of the control plane of the network device is impending, wherein the disruption to operation of the control plane compromises control plane communication between the control plane of the network device and the peer network device; constructing, by the packet forwarding component of the network device, a liveliness detection message in accordance with a forwarding-plane liveliness detection protocol, wherein the liveliness detection message comprises an indication that the disruption to operation of the control plane is impending; and outputting, by the packet forwarding component, the liveliness detection message to the peer network device in accordance with the forwarding plane liveliness detection protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A network device comprising:
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a control plane that comprises a routing component, the control plane of the network device using one or more routing protocols to exchange network topology information with one or more other network devices, the one or more other network devices including a peer network device; a packet forwarding component of the network device programmed by the control plane to forward packets in accordance with the network topology information; and wherein the packet forwarding component is configured to; exchange liveliness detection messages with a packet forwarding component of the peer network device in accordance with a forwarding-plane liveliness detection protocol; detect that a disruption to operation of the control plane of the network device is impending; and responsive to detecting that disruption to operation of the control plane of the network device is impending, the packet forwarding component; constructs a particular liveliness detection message in accordance with the forwarding plane liveliness detection protocol, the particular liveliness detection message comprising an indication that the disruption to operation of the control plane of the network device is impending, wherein the disruption to operation of the control plane of the network device compromises communication between the control plane of the network device and the peer network device; and outputs the particular liveliness detection message to the peer network device in accordance with the forwarding plane liveliness detection protocol. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A network device comprising:
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a control plane that comprises a routing component, the control plane of the network device using one or more routing protocols to exchange network topology information with one or more other network devices, the one or more other network devices including a peer network device; and a packet forwarding component of the network device programmed by the control plane of the network device to forward packets in accordance with network topology information, wherein; the packet forwarding component of the network device uses a forwarding-plane liveliness detection protocol to receive liveliness detection messages from the peer network device, a particular liveliness detection message of the liveliness detection messages comprising an indication that a disruption to operation of a control plane of the peer network device is impending, wherein the disruption to operation of the control plane of the peer network device compromises communication between the control plane of the network device and the control plane of the peer network device, and wherein the control plane of the network device, in response to receipt of the particular liveliness detection message by the packet forwarding component, suppresses a recovery process otherwise triggered by a loss of communication with the control plane of the peer network device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification