Patent ID: 7463654
Filing Date: 2008-12-09
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A stack of network routers which are interconnected and organized to constitute a single routing entity, said routers comprising a single master router and at least one slave router, wherein (a) each of the routers is capable of performing fully a routing protocol, each of the routers having a respective net database; (b) said master router only fully performs said routing protocol, only said master router generating and transmitting net advertisements in accordance with said routing protocol and receiving all types of net database update messages from its neighbors; (c) each slave router snoops net update messages from the neighbors; (d) the master router sends to each slave router verification data representing an incremental update of the master router's net database; (e) each slave router makes a comparison of verification data with corresponding data in the slave router's respective net database so as to determine whether said slave router's respective net database is synchronised with the master router's net database; and (f) each slave router requests a net advertisement from said master router if said comparison indicates that the respective net database of that slave router is not synchronized with said master router's net database.