Virtual Tunnel State Agents for Remote Failover Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network devices lack the ability to quickly detect remote failures in network paths, leading to delayed detection of tunnel failures and subsequent network traffic disruptions, as they primarily rely on local link events for failover decisions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing virtual tunnel state agents with bi-directional forwarding detection (BFD) to monitor the operational status of network devices within virtual tunnels, enabling endpoint network devices to rapidly identify and switch to backup paths upon detecting failures in primary paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If network devices rely on local link events for failover decisions, then the device complexity is reduced, but the detection speed of remote failures is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces virtual tunnel state agents as intermediary components that monitor remote tunnel endpoints and report status back to local network devices. These agents act as mediators between the local device and remote tunnel state, enabling fast detection of remote failures without requiring complex native monitoring capabilities in every network device. The agent-based approach allows simplified local devices to benefit from enhanced monitoring through external intermediary components.
2Reliability
If network devices implement fast failover monitoring, then the reliability of network communication is improved, but the use of energy increases due to continuous monitoring
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual tunnel state agents implement periodic monitoring of tunnel endpoints by sending BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection) packets at configured intervals. This periodic action enables reliable detection of remote failures while allowing the system to enter lower-power states between monitoring cycles. The configurable interval approach balances reliability requirements against energy consumption, allowing slower monitoring intervals for non-critical tunnels and faster intervals for critical paths.
3Loss of time
If network devices use traditional link event monitoring, then the device complexity is minimized, but the convergence time during failures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring virtual tunnel state agents and establishing BFD monitoring sessions before failures occur. The agents are already in place and actively monitoring tunnel endpoints, so when a failure occurs, detection happens immediately without requiring complex real-time analysis or configuration changes. This preliminary setup of monitoring infrastructure reduces convergence time while keeping individual device complexity manageable.
Data Source
AI summary
In general, embodiments relate to a method for managing traffic flow along a path between network devices. The method includes initiating, by an end-point network device, monitoring of the path, wherein the end-point network device transmits packets to a target network device over the path, detecting after the initiating, by the end-point network device, that at least a portion of the path has failed, wherein the portion of the path that has failed is external to the end-point network device, in response to the detecting, identifying which portions of network device hardware in the source network device need to be updated to redirect the packets from the end-point network device to the target network device to take a second path, and updating the identified portions of the network device hardware.