Alcatel Lucent

Alcatel-lucent Canada Inc.

Kendall William Harvey

Brian Roger Winger

Ashley Lawton

An embodiment of a method and apparatus for synchronizing routing protocol information associated with a plurality of routing modules of a network element is disclosed herein. The method includes an operation for adding an additional routing module to a network element. The network element includes an existing routing module having an existing collection of routing protocol information associated therewith. In response to adding the additional routing module to the network element, an operation is performed for imparting the existing collection of routing protocol information upon the additional routing module. After updating the existing routing module with such new routing protocol information, an operation is performed for updating the additional routing module with such new routing protocol information.

Method and apparatus for facilitating routing protocol redundancy in a network element

An embodiment of a method and apparatus for synchronizing communication tasks (e.g., transmission control protocol (TCP) tasks) for redundancy in a network element is disclosed herein. The method includes an operation for receiving an inbound TCP packet at a TCP task of an active routing module of a network element. An operation is performed for queuing a first copy of the inbound TCP packet in a receive queue of the active routing module. After queuing the first copy of the inbound TCP packet, an operation is performed for forwarding a second copy of the inbound TCP packet to an inactive routing module of the network element. After receiving the second copy of the inbound TCP packet, an operation is performed for queuing the second copy of the inbound TCP packet in a receive queue of the inactive routing module.

Method and apparatus for synchronizing redundant communication tasks

A method and apparatus for facilitating an activity switch between a plurality of redundant routing modules in a network element is disclosed. Lower layer protocol packets, each encapsulating a higher layer protocol packet, are received at a lower layer task of a first routing module. The method first determines a peer network element In response to failure of a higher layer protocol task of the first routing module. The higher layer and lower layer protocol sessions between a second routing module and the peer network element are terminated following the determination of the peer network element, wherein the second routing module functions as a backup of the first routing module. The method then initiates a switchover from the first routing module to the second routing module of the network element.

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Woodlawn, Canada

Kendall William Harvey