Patent ID: 9590850
Date: 2017-03-07
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. An apparatus configured for operation in a first network comprising an overlay network for communication among a plurality of client nodes, the apparatus comprising: an interface configured to communicate with a node in a second network comprising an underlying network for communication among a plurality of server nodes, said interface connecting said overlay network to said underlying network; a processor configured to identify at the apparatus, said interface as a spare interface and advertise said spare interface to one or more of said client nodes in said overlay network when said spare interface is not in use for communication between said overlay network and said underlying network, wherein advertising said spare interface comprises transmitting connectivity information associated with said underlying network and server or client compatibility information for said spare interface for auto-discovery of said spare interface by said client nodes or a management node; and memory for storing said connectivity and compatibility information; wherein said spare interface comprises an interface available to accommodate new services within said overlay network, and wherein advertisement of said spare interface is used to identify a compatible spare interface in said overlay network and direct traffic over a network path containing said spare interface.