Pseudowire protection using a standby pseudowire

Abstract

Providing protection to network data traffic over Pseudowires includes sending a Pseudowire TLV containing a precedence parameter to each of a set redundant Pseudowires between provider edge nodes. In the event that the designated active Pseudowire of a set of Pseudowires becomes unavailable, this configuration parameter allows peer provider edge nodes to be notified of the precedence of each Pseudowire in the redundant set in order to coordinate a switchover operation to a preferred protection Pseudowire.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method, comprising:
 configuring, by a provider edge node device comprising a processor, redundant pseudowires with configuration data containing a pseudowire TLV coded precedence value for each pseudowire;   designating one of the redundant pseudowires as an active pseudowire; and   when the one of the redundant pseudowires designated becomes unavailable, the provider edge node device preferentially forwards data traffic to another one of the redundant pseudowires having the lowest configured pseudowire TLV coded precedence value.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising initiating a switchover of the data traffic from a primary pseudowire to a standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the initiating comprises initiating the switchover in response to a detection of a failure of the primary pseudowire. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising initiating the preemption of the data traffic on the standby pseudowire in response to a determination that an amount of the data traffic on the primary pseudowire exceeds an available bandwidth of the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the initiating the switchover comprises reverting data traffic back to the primary pseudowire when it becomes available again at least partly in response to a determination that the primary pseudowire has a lower pseudowire TLV coded precedence value than the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         7 . A system, comprising:
 a non-transitory memory that stores computer-executable instructions;   and a processor, coupled to the memory, that executes or facilitates execution of the computer-executable instructions to at least:   configure redundant pseudowires with configuration data containing a pseudowire TLV coded precedence value for each pseudowire;   designating one of the redundant pseudowires as the active pseudowire; and   when the one of the redundant pseudowires designated becomes unavailable, a provider edge node device preferentially forwards data traffic to another one of the redundant pseudowires having the lowest configured pseudowire TLV coded precedence value.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the processor further executes or facilitates the execution of the computer-executable instructions to initiate a transition of the data traffic from a primary pseudowire to the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor further executes or facilitates the execution of the computer-executable instructions to initiate the transition in response to a detection of a failure of the primary pseudowire. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor further executes or facilitates the execution of the computer-executable instructions to initiate the preemption of the network traffic in response to a determination that an amount of the data traffic on the primary pseudowire exceeds an available bandwidth of the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor further executes or facilitates the execution of the computer-executable instructions wherein the initiating the switchover comprises initiating the switch back to a primary pseudowire when it becomes available again at least partly in response to a determination that it has a lower pseudowire TLV coded precedence value than the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         12 . A computer-readable non-transitory storage device having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:
 configuring redundant pseudowires with configuration data containing a pseudowire TLV coded precedence value for each pseudowire;   designating one of the redundant pseudowires as the active pseudowire; and   when the one of the redundant pseudowires designated becomes unavailable, a provider edge node device preferentially forwards data traffic to another one of the redundant pseudowires having the lowest configured pseudowire TLV coded precedence value.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise initiating a switchover of the data traffic from a primary pseudowire to the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise, to initiate the preemption of the network traffic in response to a determination that an amount of the data traffic on the primary pseudowire exceeds an available bandwidth of the standby pseudowire. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise initiating the switchover comprises reverting data traffic back to a primary pseudowire when it becomes available again at least partly in response to a determination that it has a lower pseudowire TLV coded precedence value than the standby pseudowire.