Fast Convergence for Virtual Ethernet Segments in EVPN
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Solution Overview
Problem
In service provider networks, a single port failure on a Provider Edge device can significantly impact thousands of Virtual Ethernet Segments, leading to prolonged service interruptions due to the time required to activate redundancy mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method where Provider Edge devices receive and process routing advertisements with port identifiers, allowing for the identification and invalidation of affected Virtual Ethernet Segments and initiation of a new designated forwarder election process upon detecting a port failure, enabling fast convergence and minimizing network downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundancy mechanisms are activated for each affected Virtual Ethernet Segment individually, then network reliability is improved, but convergence time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the failure detection and redundancy activation processes across multiple Virtual Ethernet Segments into a single coordinated action. When a port failure is detected, the system simultaneously invalidates routes and activates redundancy for all affected VESs through a unified failure notification mechanism, rather than processing each VES independently. This combining approach maintains network reliability while dramatically reducing convergence time from potentially minutes to seconds.
2Measurement precision
If individual route invalidation is performed for each Virtual Ethernet Segment, then routing accuracy is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing failure notification mechanisms and route invalidation templates before failures occur. When a port failure is detected, the system uses pre-configured notification protocols to immediately invalidate all affected routes across multiple VESs simultaneously, rather than dynamically determining and processing each route individually. This approach maintains routing accuracy while reducing real-time processing overhead through advance preparation.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for fast convergence for virtual ethernet segments in EVPN and PBB-EVPN networks are disclosed. A first provider edge (PE) device can receive one or more advertising messages corresponding to one or more virtual ethernet segments, wherein each of the one or more advertising messages can include a port identifier. The first PE device maintains a table including the one or more virtual ethernet segments and the corresponding port identifier. The first PE device can receive a failure message from a second PE device that identifies a first port on the second PE device, and identifies, based on the table, at least one affected virtual ethernet segment that is associated with the first port. The first PE device can remove any routes that are associated with the at least one affected virtual ethernet segment and trigger mass designated-forwarding election for impacted virtual ethernet segments.