Cisco Technology, Inc.

Gregory A Shepherd

Ijsbrand Wijnands

Toerless Eckert

Neale D R Ranns

Methods and network devices are disclosed for failure protection in traffic-engineered bit indexed explicit replication networks. In one embodiment, a method includes determining a protected link or node in a network, where the protected link or node is included in a designated path to be taken by a message through the network to a destination node, the designated path is encoded in a message bit array carried by the message, and assigned bit positions in the message bit array represent respective network links along the designated path. The method further includes determining a backup path to the destination node from a feeder node adapted to forward a message carrying the message bit array into the protected link or node, and populating an entry in a path update table stored at the feeder node. In one embodiment a network device includes a network interface and a processor configured to carry out the methods.

Failure protection for traffic-engineered bit indexed explicit replication

Methods and network devices are disclosed for failure protection in traffic-engineered bit indexed explicit replication networks. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving at a node in a network a message comprising a message bit array, where bit positions in the message bit array correspond to respective links in the network. The method further includes evaluating a bit value at a bit position in the message bit array, where the bit position corresponds to a network link represented in a forwarding table for the node, checking for a failure state of the link represented in the forwarding table, and, responsive to a determination of a failure state of the link, modifying one or more bit values in the message bit array. In one embodiment a network device includes a network interface, a memory configured to store a forwarding table, and a processor configured to carry out the methods.

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Eugene, OR, United States of America

Gregory A Shepherd