Abstract:
A method and apparatus for managing network communication that operate on the idea that if a new neighboring node is already reachable as represented in a shortest path data structure that the local node consults, there is no urgency in doing a full database synchronization between the local node and the neighboring node. The present invention delays database synchronization as long as possible to reduce unnecessary OSPF packets traversing communication links between nodes of the network. Since unsynchronized neighbors remain in 2-way state, OSPF updates are not flooded over the corresponding interfaces.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention relates broadly to computer networks employing routers that communicate link-state information to each other. Specifically, the present invention relates to elimination of unnecessary traffic in the form of database description, link-state requests and link state update packets. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a routing protocol developed for Internet Protocol (IP) networks. OSPF is a link-state routing protocol that calls for the sending of link-state advertisements (LSAs) to all other routers within the same hierarchical area. Information on attached interfaces, metrics used, and other variables, is included in OSPF LSAs. As OSPF routers accumulate link-state information, they use algorithms that calculate the shortest path to various routers (network nodes). The largest entity within the hierarchy is an autonomous system (AS), which is a collection of networks under a common administration that share a common routing strategy. OSPF is an intra-AS (interior gateway) routing protocol, although it is capable of receiving routes from and sending routes to other ASs. An AS can be divided into a number of areas, which are groups of contiguous networks and attached hosts. Routers with multiple interfaces can participate in multiple areas. These routers, which are called Area Border Routers, maintain separate topological databases for each area. A topological database is essentially an overall picture of networks in relationship to routers. The topological database contains the collection of LSAs received from all routers in the same area. Because routers within the same area share the same information, they have identical topological databases. 
     The Shortest Path First (SPF) routing algorithm is the basis for OSPF operations. When a router using the SPF algorithm is powered up, it initializes its routing-protocol data structures and then waits for indications from lower-layer protocols that its interfaces are functional. After a router is assured that its interfaces are functioning, it uses the OSPF Hello protocol to acquire neighbors, which are routers with interfaces to a common network. The router sends hello packets to its neighbors and receives their hello packets. In addition to helping acquire neighbors, hello packets also act as “keepalives,” messages that let routers know that other routers are still functional. On multi-access networks (networks supporting more than two routers), the Hello protocol elects a designated router and a backup designated router. Among other things, the designated router is responsible for generating LSAs for the entire multi-access network. Designated routers allow a reduction in network traffic and in the size of the topological database. 
     When the topological databases of two neighboring routers are synchronized, the routers are said to be adjacent. Adjacencies control the distribution of routing-protocol packets, which are sent and received only on adjacencies. Each router periodically sends its LSAs to provide information on a router&#39;s adjacencies or to inform others when a router&#39;s state changes. By comparing established adjacencies to link states, failed routers can be detected quickly, and the network&#39;s topology can be altered appropriately. From the topological database generated from LSAs, each router calculates a shortest-path tree (SPT), with itself as root. The SPT, in turn, yields a routing table. 
     In Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANET), there are highly-meshed connections. Due to prohibitive overhead costs of maintaining many peerings, it is not always desirable to bring up routing peering with all possible visible neighbors. But this results in lost, potentially-usable forwarding paths. There is a need for a solution that does not have to perform a full database exchange, but at the same time assumes the adjacency is synchronized and announces the corresponding link for transit. This would reduce peering overhead, and the many alternate paths could be used, thus more effectively utilizing available network throughput. In the case of OSPF, the use of many alternate paths translates into the ability to announce and use the adjacency (for data plane) without incurring the expense of a full database exchange or handling flooding updates over this adjacency. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention solves the problems described above by implementing a method and apparatus that operate on the idea that if a new neighboring node is already reachable as represented in a shortest path data structure that the local node consults, there is no urgency in doing a full database synchronization between the local node and the neighboring node. The present invention delays database synchronization as long as possible to reduce unnecessary OSPF packets traversing communication links between nodes of the network. Since unsynchronized neighbors remain in 2-way state, OSPF updates are not flooded over the corresponding interfaces resulting in additional savings. Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood from reading the following detailed description, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a network of routers in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates in block diagram form the major components of a router in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates in flow chart form a sequence of acts performed in accordance in an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary format for a link description included in a link state advertisement. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Directing attention to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an exemplary network of routers in accordance with the present invention. Routers  10 - 70  function to pass traffic in the form of packetized data between points  100 ,  200 . Points  100 ,  200  can be individual, end user computer systems, local area networks, wider area networks, and may even be separate computer networks containing additional routers, but in each case data packets are sent through at least some of the routers  10 - 70  between points  100 ,  200 . While  FIG. 1  illustrates a network having a specific number of routers  10 - 70 , it is to be understood that various configurations of routers can be implemented in accordance with the present invention. Such variations include the number of routers included, as well as the communication medium employed between the routers. Routers  10 - 70  can communicate with each other over wireless media as well as wired media, as can points  100 ,  200 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of routers  10 - 70 . Router  200  includes communication connection  210 , processor  212 , memory  214 , link state database  216 , and shortest path data structure  218 . Other components, commonly found in routers known to those skilled in the art, are included in router  200 , but are not illustrated. 
       FIG. 3  describes acts that are performed when a node has reached a 2-way state through exchanging hello messages with neighboring nodes that are detected. A node&#39;s shortest path data structure  218  includes link state advertisements that include an indicator of whether the node referenced in the link state advertisement has been advertised before its database  216  has been synchronized with the local node or is a part of a new adjacency awaiting database synchronization with the local node. 
     When a 2-WayReceived event has occurred (act  300 ), shortest path data structure  218  is consulted (act  302 ) to determine if the neighboring node that participated in the 2-WayReceived event is reachable (decision act  304 ). If yes, then based on the last SPF algorithm executed, the neighboring node is considered reachable. The link state advertisement corresponding to the neighboring node is designated in shortest path data structure  218  as full (act  306 ) to indicate that the neighboring node is fully synchronized. This means that the router-LSA or network-LSA link corresponding to the neighboring node is advertised as if the neighboring node is full. If there is no link state advertisement in shortest path data structure  218 , then the neighboring node is considered unreachable by the paths designated in shortest path data structure  218 . 
     In an embodiment, adjacency information is reflected in link state advertisements contained in shortest path data structure  218 . At decision act  308 , database synchronization is postponed—either by a configured amount of time, as in one embodiment, or until the time that an event triggers its occurrence. In either case, if database synchronization is currently pending, it is started as soon as a determination is made that the neighboring node is no longer reachable in the shortest path data structure (act  310 ). Database synchronization can be done by out-of-band synchronization [OOB], which maintains the current adjacency and performs database synchronization in the background. In standard-compliant OSPF environments, first adjacency is established, and then one or more transit links are announced. Embodiments of the present invention allow the link to be used as a forwarding path very quickly, and still allows the database to be synchronized in a timely fashion if the alternate flooding path has recently been broken. 
     In an embodiment, the present invention resolves a circular dependency issue existing between routers. Once the link is announced, the shortest path will likely be via this announced link. It is non-trivial to detect the corresponding alternate dependent path is gone, so consultation of the shortest path data structure determines whether the neighboring node is reachable via a path that doesn&#39;t traverse this unsynchronized link. 
     One solution is to run an SPF algorithm, such as Dijkstra&#39;s Algorithm, and ignore the existence of the link in question. It doesn&#39;t require a full execution of an SPF algorithm, but just enough to determine if any other path is available to reach the neighboring node. The worst-case scenario is when the alternate path is really gone, discovered by building a full shortest path first data structure  218 , which is performed every time link state database  216  changes, and for each link which has shortest-path-first dependence for its viability. 
     The present invention achieves the same results by executing a single, additional shortest path first algorithm that is capable of ignoring these “unsynchronized” links. By constructing shortest path data structure  218  in this manner, it can be used to satisfy the reachability condition for any number of unsynchronized adjacencies. This basically requires that a difference can be recognized between a normal full adjacency and this new unsynchronized adjacency. This can be accomplished by two ways. 
     First, in the preferred embodiment, and indicator such as a bit in a link description, is shown in  FIG. 4 . U-bit  400  is an “unsynchronized bit.” U-bit  400  is set if the adjacency is being announced before databases are fully synchronized. This approach is backward-compatible because the only routers looking at this bit are those that support the mechanisms specified in this document, and other routers ignore the value of this indicator. 
     In another embodiment, a new link type is included in a router&#39;s LSA. This is a much more complex solution, with backward-compatibility risks, since unknown link type handling is not defined in current OSPF standard [OSPF]. 
     As described above, whenever link state changes occur, a single, additional SPF algorithm is executed that ignores all links with U-bit  400  set to indicate an unsynchronized database. The resulting shortest path data structure  218  is then consulted to see if any of the unsynchronized adjacencies require a database synchronization. Shortest path data structure  218  is also consulted when a new neighbor goes into a 2-way state to determine if the database exchange should be executed immediately or deferred until a later time. For unsynchronized neighboring nodes that remain in 2-way state with the local node, OSPF updates will not be flooded over the corresponding interfaces, thus reducing traffic over the network and improving communication efficiency. 
     While a method and apparatus for managing network communication with unsynchronized adjacencies has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that many modifications can be made to various embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof.