Fast Switchover Protection Group for Transport Network Path Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional transport networks experience significant delays and traffic loss during switchover from a working label switched path to a restoration path due to the requirement for end-to-end signaling, which can take up to several hundred milliseconds or even seconds, leading to substantial downtime.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a fast switchover protection group that includes both the working and restoration label switched paths within the network devices, allowing immediate switchover without the need for end-to-end signaling, utilizing a modified Automatic Protection Switching (APS) state machine to handle multiple traffic sources and enable hitless or near-instant path switchover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If end-to-end signaling is used for path switchover, then path protection is ensured, but switchover delay increases to several hundred milliseconds or seconds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-establishes restoration label switched paths and configures fast switchover protection groups before failures occur. When a failure is detected, the ingress network device can immediately switch traffic to the pre-configured restoration path without waiting for end-to-end signaling, achieving switchover within 50 milliseconds while maintaining path protection through the pre-established backup paths
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the protection mechanism by implementing fast switchover protection groups at the ingress network device that independently manage working and restoration paths. This segmentation allows local decision-making for path switchover without requiring coordinated signaling across the entire end-to-end path, thereby reducing switchover delay while maintaining reliability
2Reliability
If conventional switchover with end-to-end signaling is used, then path validation is ensured, but traffic loss increases during switchover
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-configures restoration paths and fast switchover protection groups before failures occur, enabling immediate traffic redirection upon failure detection. This eliminates the traffic loss that occurs during conventional end-to-end signaling by having validation and switching capabilities already in place, achieving hitless or near-instant switchover within 50 milliseconds
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fast switchover protection groups as intermediaries at the ingress network device that locally manage the switching between working and restoration paths. These protection groups act as mediators that can immediately redirect traffic without waiting for end-to-end signaling confirmation, thereby preventing traffic loss during the switchover process while maintaining path validation through the pre-configured protection group structure
Data Source
AI summary
Presented herein are techniques that enable fast switchover or reversion between label switched paths. In accordance with examples presented herein, a working label switched path is added to a fast switchover protection group that is configured to carry traffic from an ingress network device to an egress network device through a transport network. A restoration label switched path associated with the working label switched path is also added to the fast switchover protection group. The fast switchover protection group is stored at the ingress network device. After storing the fast switchover protection group at the ingress network device, at least the working label switched path is used to carry traffic through the transport network.