Patent ID: 7085225
Filing Date: 2006-08-01
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of routing data through a communication device having respective switching fabrics providing active and redundant datapaths, and wherein either of said switching fabrics can be made active to provide the active datapath and wherein the other switching fabric provides the redundant datapath, said method comprising: (i) Continually monitoring for faults detected and cleared in said switchng fabrics; (ii) Reporting said detected and cleared faults to a demerit engine; (iii) Maintaining a record of the health of each switching fabric in said demerit engine; (iii) Updating said demerit engine as said cleared and detected faults are reported; (iv) Providing a mechanism to initiate rapid switching of the data from the active datapath to the redundant datapath upon detection of a fault; (iv) Disabling said mechanism while said demerit engine indicates the presence of faults in said switching fabrics; and (vi) Upon detection of a fault when said mechanism is disabled, applying a set of rules to determine which fabric to make active based on the health of the respective switching fabrics as determined by the records in said demerit engine.