BIER Ring Forwarding Table for Network Failure Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing BIER-TE network failure protection methods, such as Point-to-Point Tunneling, Header Modification, and Bier-in-Bier Encapsulation, have limitations in ensuring uninterrupted message forwarding during link failures in ring topologies.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allocate a protection ring bit position opposite to the working path for each forwarding link, utilizing a BIER Ring Forwarding Table (BRFT) to redirect BIER messages along the protection ring bit position when a failure is detected, ensuring message delivery to normal nodes in the ring topology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional BIER-TE forwarding is used without protection mechanisms, then the forwarding path is simple and direct, but the network reliability deteriorates when link failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-allocates protection ring bit positions for each forwarding link and pre-configures the BIER Ring Forwarding Table (BRFT) with alternative forwarding paths before failures occur. When a link failure is detected, the system immediately switches to the pre-prepared protection path, eliminating the need for complex real-time path computation during failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary protection ring bit position mechanism that mediates between the working path and the backup path. The BRFT acts as an intermediary forwarding table that stores pre-computed alternative paths, allowing seamless transition from working to protection mode without direct complex interaction between failure detection and path recalculation.
2Reliability
If protection mechanisms like PPT, HM, or BBE are implemented, then network fault protection is improved, but the device complexity and forwarding overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal protection mechanism that works across different ring topology scenarios. The BRFT serves multiple functions: it stores protection paths for various links, handles different failure scenarios (single link failure, multiple link failures), and integrates with the existing BIER-TE forwarding framework, eliminating the need for separate specialized protection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the forwarding parameter from traditional next-hop based forwarding to bit position based forwarding using the BRFT. By modifying the forwarding table structure to include protection ring bit positions and alternative paths, the system achieves simplified protection switching without requiring complex protocol modifications or multiple specialized tables.
3Speed
If alternative protection paths are pre-configured for all possible failures, then the switching speed upon failure is improved, but the memory consumption and table size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the protection path information into structured BRFT entries that are organized by protection ring bit positions. Each entry contains only the necessary information for a specific protection scenario (alternative next-hop, bit position mapping), avoiding redundant data storage and enabling efficient lookup during failure switching.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a system and a storage medium for network failure protection belonging to the field of network technologies. The method comprises: allocating, for each forwarding link of the ring topology, a protection ring bit position opposite to the direction of a working path; newly adding BRFT for storing adjacent forwarding table entries related to forwarding along the direction of the protection ring bit position; and when a BIER message is forwarded along the working path, if a BFR detects that the downstream adjacency fails, searching for entry content of the BTAFT, finding the correlation between the link bit position of the fault forwarding link and the protection ring bit position, and forwarding, on the basis of entry content of the BRFT, the BIER message to the opposite end fault point of the opposite end along the direction of the protection ring bit position.