Patent ID: 7324439
Filing Date: 2008-01-29
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In an Internet Protocol (IP) network, a first service node being redundant to a second service node, the second node being connected towards an IP node through a normal-condition connection, the first service node comprising: a physical network interface connected towards the IP node through a redundant-condition connection; a virtual network interface representing a virtual connection towards the second service node, wherein the virtual connection is an artificial connection that cannot be used to route traffic; a processing component that comprises a processing capabilities module capable of processing traffic addressed to the first service node on behalf of the second service node; and a routing component comprising a routing table including a cost of using the virtual connection towards the second service node, the cost of using the virtual connection being set such that the sum of the cost of using the virtual connection and cost associated with using the redundancy-condition is higher than the cost associated with using the normal-condition connection.