Arista Networks, Inc.

Sandeep Betha

Sharad Birmiwal

Akshay K Gattani

Bharathram Pattabhiraman

Swati Patel

Saurav Arora

Santosh Kumar

Gokul Unnikrishnan

In accordance with the present disclosure, a switch under maintenance indicates to one or more of its neighbors that it will go into maintenance mode. The switch can add a maintenance indicator in a message to the neighbors. This 'tagged' message informs the neighbor devices of the switch's intent to go into maintenance mode. After a time subsequent to sending the tagged message, the switch under maintenance advertises a message to the targeted neighbors to divert traffic away from itself. The neighbor computes a new path while at the same time continuing to receive traffic on the old path. Graceful switchover occurs when the neighbor sees traffic on the new path and, in response, stops traffic on the old path without losing traffic.

Avoiding multicast traffic loss during maintenance mode transition

The present disclosure describes using Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to determine whether a host is behind a PE or not behind a PE. In a use case, for example, advertising a Selective Provider Multicast Service Interface Auto-Discovery (S-PMSI-AD) route to advertise encapsulation of a multicast group is triggered by receiving multicast traffic for that group from a host device behind the provider edge (PE) device. Multicast traffic received from behind remote PEs will not trigger a S-PMSI-AD route.

Using ARP to identify locally attached source

Advertising a Selective Provider Multicast Service Interface Auto-Discovery (S-PMSI-AD) route to advertise encapsulation of a multicast group is triggered by receiving multicast traffic for that group from a host device behind the provider edge (PE) device. Multicast traffic received from behind remote PEs will not trigger a S-PMSI-AD route. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used to determine whether a host is behind a PE or not behind a PE.

Multicasting using selective advertisement of EVPN routes

Techniques disclosed herein provide a method and systems for installing routes by a route reflect (RR) device when the tunnel RIB of the RR device does not include any tunnel labels definitions. The unicast routing information base (RIB) of route reflector (RR) device is configured to include a next hop associated with a first network device. When the RR device receives a route from the first network device that comprises a tunnel label for reaching the second network device, the RR device resolves the next hop of the received route using the unicast RIB of the RR device. In response to the resolving, the RR device forwards the route to a third network device (e.g., identified by an export route target of the RR device).

Systems and method for propagating route information

Some embodiments provide a method, executable by a first network device, that receives a set of commands to create a custom routing table. The set of commands specifies that the custom routing table be configured to resolve next hops for routing protocol paths using routes determined by a subset of a set of protocols used by a predefined routing table of the first network device to determine next hops for routing protocol paths. Based on the set of commands, the method further generates the custom routing table. The method also receives a routing protocol path from a second network device. The method further uses one of the custom routing table and the predefined routing table to resolve a next hop for the routing protocol path.

Custom routing information bases for network devices

A method for processing routes by a network device connected to a network includes: generating a programmable route based on a route programming request associated with a route between the network device and a request origin device; storing the programmable route in a temporary route storage in the network device; and upon receiving a data packet associated with the programmable route, permitting installation of the programmable route in a network device hardware of the network device.

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Burnaby, Canada

Sandeep Betha