Notvia Address Repair Path Construction in Data Networks

The patent pre-calculates and stores repair paths for all possible single-node failures before they occur. Each node computes repair paths to all other nodes assuming each neighbor might fail, and stores these pre-computed paths in a repair path database. When a failure occurs, the pre-computed shortest repair path is immediately retrieved without requiring complex real-time calculations, thus achieving both shortest paths and reduced computational overhead during actual failure events.

The patent uses IP address copying/masking techniques to implement repair forwarding. Instead of complex additional forwarding mechanisms, it creates a virtual copy of the network topology where each node has a virtual IP address representing the network segment behind a potential failure point. Repair packets are forwarded to these virtual addresses using standard IP routing, and the underlying infrastructure automatically handles the delivery through alternative paths, thus achieving reliable failure recovery using only standard IP forwarding without additional complex mechanisms.

The patent implements local proactive repair path calculation where each node independently computes repair paths only for its own perspective - i.e., each node calculates repair paths assuming its own neighbors might fail, not all possible failures in the entire network. This localizes the computational effort to what is necessary for each node's immediate repair needs, reducing overall network computational load while still enabling fast local repair response. The distributed nature means each node does minimal local work rather than one node doing all the work or all nodes doing exhaustive calculations.