Local Repair Path Optimization in MPLS Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques for creating local repair connections in MPLS networks are inefficient in determining optimal paths, leading to suboptimal rerouting and increased risk of data transmission disruptions due to network failures.
Innovation Solution
The technique involves determining a local repair path that starts at a node in the original connection path and merges downstream, potentially skipping multiple nodes, including the next-hop and next-next-hop nodes, to establish a more efficient rerouting path using connection-oriented protocols like MPLS, optimizing the path to minimize overlap with the original path and ensure data diversion and remerging efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional techniques are used to determine local repair paths, then the path determination process is simple, but the rerouting efficiency is suboptimal and the risk of data transmission disruptions is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-calculates and stores optimal local repair paths before failures occur. When a failure is detected, the pre-computed path is immediately activated, eliminating the need for real-time path calculation during failures and ensuring rapid, reliable rerouting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables repair paths to skip multiple nodes (next-hop, next-next-hop) in the original path, allowing traffic to bypass failure points more efficiently by jumping directly to downstream merge points rather than sequentially traversing intermediate nodes.
2Productivity
If the local repair path includes many nodes from the original path, then the path determination is easier, but the rerouting efficiency is reduced and disruptions are minimized less effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes intermediate nodes (next-hop, next-next-hop) from the repair path that are also present in the original path. This extraction reduces the number of nodes that traffic must traverse during rerouting, improving efficiency by minimizing overlap between original and repair paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension to path selection by considering skip distances (skipping 1 node, 2 nodes, or more) as an additional parameter. This allows the system to evaluate multiple path dimensions simultaneously, selecting paths that optimize both simplicity and rerouting efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for configuring a local repair connection for a protected connection including determining a path for the local repair connection. The path traversed by a local repair connection starts at a node in the path associated with the protected connection and ends at a merge point node in the path associated with the protected connection that is downstream from the start node. In one embodiment, the merge point node may even be more than two hops downstream from the start node in the path associated with the protected connection. The local repair path may include zero or more nodes that are not included in the path associated with the protected connection. Techniques are also described for optimizing the path associated with a local repair connection.