Maximally Redundant Trees for Network Traffic Forwarding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions fail to provide redundancy in multisource-to-multi-destination systems with address-based routing, particularly for scenarios where sources and destinations are movable, requiring costly network reconfigurations and complex path management.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and network element that computes maximally redundant trees (MRTs) using almost directed acyclic graphs (ADAGs) and generalized ADAGs to determine disjoint paths, allowing network traffic to be forwarded efficiently across multiple sources and destinations without requiring all nodes to track destination positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional path routing is used in multisource-to-multi-destination systems, then network configuration becomes complex and costly, but redundancy cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The network graph is segmented into two separate spanning trees (blue tree and red tree) that provide disjoint paths. Each tree represents a separate forwarding instance, allowing traffic to be segmented across multiple independent paths, thereby providing redundancy without complex path management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal forwarding mechanism where all network nodes participate in both blue and red spanning trees simultaneously. This multi-functionality allows any node to serve as a forwarding point for multiple destinations, eliminating the need for specialized path management while providing comprehensive redundancy.
2Reliability
If alternate network paths are added for redundancy, then network availability improves, but device complexity and reconfiguration costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blue and red spanning trees are pre-computed and installed in the network before any failure occurs. This preliminary action ensures that alternate paths are already available and configured, eliminating the need for costly real-time reconfiguration when failures happen.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the forwarding parameter from single-path routing to dual-tree forwarding. By modifying the forwarding behavior to select from pre-computed blue and red trees based on simple criteria, the system achieves redundancy without complex reconfiguration procedures.
3Measurement precision
If all nodes track destination positions for movable sources and destinations, then routing accuracy improves, but information overhead and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex destination tracking requirement from individual nodes and centralizes it in the path computation element. Only the PCE needs to know destination positions and compute appropriate blue/red tree paths, while network nodes simply forward based on pre-computed next-hop information, dramatically reducing information overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The path computation element acts as an intermediary between movable destinations and network nodes. It translates destination position information into forwarding instructions (blue or red tree selection) that network nodes can execute without needing to track destinations themselves, reducing processing complexity at network nodes.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to forwarding of network traffic. In one of its aspects, the technology presented herein concerns a method for forwarding network traffic from multiple sources to multiple destinations on maximally disjoint paths by maximally redundant trees, MRTs. The method is implemented in a network element implementing multipoint-to-multipoint functionalities in a path computation element, PCE, of a network, wherein the network includes a plurality of network elements. According to the method, an almost directed acyclic graph, ADAG, is computed for the network. Next hops along MRTs are computed by using the ADAG. One or more valid path pair(s) of the computed MRTs that is/are disjoint is/are determined and then, the network traffic is forwarded by using the valid path pair(s) of the MRT(s).