Cisco Technology, Inc.

Liem Hong Nguyen

Donnie Van Savage

Thuan Van Tran

Russell Ivan White

Yi Yang

Abhay Kumar Roy

Alexey Dimitrievich Zinin

Donald Earl Slice, Jr

Techniques are disclosed for synchronizing a database related to a first node in a network with multiple nodes. Each node includes a database different from a database on a different node. An inquiry control message is sent to each node in a candidate set of one or more nodes on the network, which are different from the first node. In response to the inquiry control message, the first node receives a first set of one or more messages from a particular node different from the first node. The first set indicates a portion from the database of the particular node. The portion is relevant for the first node. A particular portion of a first database for the first node is derived from the first set of messages. The particular portion is less than all of the first database. These techniques allow the first node to derive its full database from multiple adjacent nodes.

Synchronizing portions of a database with different databases on different nodes of a network

A system and method for enhancing the behavior of a network. In an illustrative embodiment, the network includes a distribution router and plural additional routers connected to the distribution router. The system includes a first module that is adapted to characterize the additional routers as stub routers or non-stub routers and then to provide a signal in response thereto. A second module selectively queries non-stub routers for route information and does not query stub routers for the route information. In a more specific embodiment, the second module includes a unicast module for selectively unicasting queries to the non-stub routers. A multicast module selectively multicasts queries to the non-stub routers via a modified conditional-receive algorithm.

System and method for improving network performance by controlling stub-routing behavior

A method and apparatus resynchronizes a link state database (LSDB) of a non-stop forwarding (NSF) router with the LSDB of a neighboring router ('neighbor') while maintaining an existing adjacency with the neighbor in a computer network. An out-of-band resynchronization process executes on the routers to essentially maintain the existing adjacency between the router and neighbor, rather than resetting that adjacency as defined by a conventional resynchronization approach. By keeping the adjacency 'up' from the perspective of a routing protocol, such as the Open Shortest Path First routing protocol, the adjacency can be used for continued data traffic to and from the NSF router.

Out of band data base synchronization for OSPF

Techniques for sending data in a packet-switched communications network include determining multiple subsets of adjacent network nodes of the network. The adjacent network nodes communicate without intervening network nodes with a particular network node through an interface on the particular network node. Each subset includes multiple adjacent network nodes. Subset definition data is sent through the interface. The subset definition data indicates which adjacent network nodes belong to which subset. Data for fewer than all adjacent network nodes in all subsets are sent by including, in a multicast data packet sent over the interface with a multicast destination address, subset identifier data that indicates a particular subset. When such data is received by a node, it is discarded unless the subset identifier matches the receiving node's subset identifier. Among other effects, this allows routing messages to be more efficiently sent to better performing neighboring network nodes.

Growing community of inventors

Apex, NC, United States of America

Liem Hong Nguyen