Distribution of forwarding information in a network node
US7417987B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 30, 2003 |
| Grant date | Aug 26, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 13, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L45/60
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Distributing forwarding information in a router that has a distributed processing architecture involves distributing the forwarding information from one instance of an operating system to another instance of an operating system in parallel using two different communications channels where one of the communications channels is characteristically reliable yet relatively slow and where the other one of the communications channels is characteristically unreliable yet relatively fast. The forwarding information that is distributed via the relatively fast communications channel can be used to rapidly update forwarding tables such as hardware forwarding tables while the forwarding information that is distributed via the reliable communications channel can be used to resolve errors that may occur during distribution via the relatively fast communications channel. The distribution of forwarding information through parallel channels can be tracked by associating unique sequence numbers with the messages that carry the forwarding information.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.