Mac-sync based mechanism for bridge port failover

Abstract

In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method for a MAC addresses synchronization mechanism for a bridge port failover is disclosed. In an embodiment, the method comprises: upon detecting a failover of a previously active bridge node, a standby bridge node performing: detecting a failover of a previously active bridge node; sending a request to one or more hosts to cause the one or more hosts to remove, from one or more corresponding forwarding tables, one or more MAC addresses, of one or more virtual machines, that the one or more hosts learned based on communications tunnels established with the previously active bridge node; for each MAC address stored in a MAC-SYNC table maintained by the standby bridge node: generating a first-type reverse address resolution protocol ('RARP') packet having a source MAC address retrieved from the MAC-SYNC table; broadcasting the first RARP message to a virtual extensible LAN ('VXLAN') switch via a bridge port of the VXLAN switch for the VXLAN switch to register the MAC address on the bridge port; storing an association of the MAC address and an identifier of the bridge port in a forwarding table maintained by the standby bridge node; for each MAC address that is stored in the forwarding table, but not in the MAC-SYNC table: generating a second-type RARP packet with such a MAC address to be the source MAC address; broadcasting the second RARP message from the VXLAN switch to a VLAN switch causing a physical switch to update a forwarding table maintained by the physical switch; and starting to forward traffic, via the bridge port, as an active bridge node.