Pre-scheduled Bulk Rerouting in Transport Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bulk rerouting in transport networks with imperfect synchronization leads to significant service disruptions and packet loss due to the time-consuming re-provisioning of routing paths across different time slots, especially when the network is close to saturation.
Innovation Solution
Pre-computing and pre-provisioning routing paths and their order across different time slots, and generating free network resources according to predefined rules that consider traffic preemption to facilitate seamless rerouting sequencing, thereby reducing transition impact and service disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If time-dependent routing paths are re-provisioned across different time slots to accommodate time-varying traffic demands, then link utilization and network throughput are improved, but service disruptions and packet loss increase due to re-provisioning time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-computes and pre-provisions routing paths for multiple time slots before the actual traffic flow begins. By preparing the routing tables in advance and having network nodes ready with pre-calculated paths, the system can switch between time slots without actual re-provisioning during traffic flow, thus improving link utilization while minimizing service disruptions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic routing paths that change according to different time slots, allowing the network to adapt to time-varying traffic demands. The routing tables are dynamically updated in a coordinated manner across all network nodes, enabling flexible path selection that optimizes link utilization for each time slot while maintaining service continuity
2Productivity
If routing paths are re-configured across different time slots to handle time-varying traffic demands, then network throughput is improved, but signaling overhead and re-provisioning time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs all routing path computations and provisions routing tables to network nodes in advance, before the traffic actually flows. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming re-provisioning during traffic operations, allowing the network to simply switch between pre-configured time slots and maintain high throughput
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the network operation into discrete time slots, each with its own pre-configured routing table. By segmenting the traffic flow into time-based segments with predetermined routes, the system avoids continuous re-provisioning and reduces the time lost to configuration changes, as each time slot has its routing paths ready in advance
3Reliability
If bulk rerouting is performed in a pre-scheduled manner to minimize transition impact, then service quality is improved, but the complexity of coordinating routing changes across multiple network nodes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the routing computation and provisioning functions into a coordinated system that operates across all network nodes simultaneously. By combining the pre-computation of routing paths for all nodes and synchronizing the switching action across the entire network at time slot boundaries, the system maintains service quality while managing coordination complexity through unified control
4Reliability
If network nodes are perfectly synchronized to enable atomic bulk rerouting at time slot boundaries, then packet loss is minimized, but the requirement for high-precision synchronization increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-computes and pre-provisions all routing paths before the time slot boundary, so that when the switch occurs, all nodes already have the correct routing information ready. This preliminary preparation reduces the precision requirements for synchronization at the actual switching moment, as nodes don't need to exchange complex synchronization signals but can simply execute the pre-prepared routing switch
Data Source
AI summary
A method for performing bulk rerouting in a transport network includes pre-computing routing paths for traffic between multiple source-destination pairs for different time slots and pre-computing an order in which changes of the routing paths are carried out across different time slots, pre-provisioning the routing paths and the order to the respective forwarding network nodes, and generating free network resources according to predefined rules that take into consideration traffic preemption and exploiting the free network resources to bootstrap and/or to facilitate a rerouting sequencing of routing path switching and/or swapping in bulk rerouting across different time slots.