Patent ID: 7948873

Claim:
A computer-executed method, comprising: receiving, at a network element, a request to switch a designation of an active Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) speaker of the network element from a first BGP speaker of the network element to a second BGP speaker of the network element, wherein the active BGP speaker processes all BGP messages received at the network element; in response to receiving the request, the active BGP speaker pausing operation of a transport-layer protocol for BGP to the network element; wherein pausing operation of the transport-layer protocol for BGP to the network element comprises a single step from the group of: ceasing to advance a window size advertised by TCP segments sent from the network element to a peer, ceasing to acknowledge TCP segments received, by the network element, from a peer, sending, to a peer, a TCP segment that advertises a window size of zero; transferring routing data, which describes a state of a first routing information base (RIB), from the first BGP speaker to the second BGP speaker, wherein a second routing information base (RIB), maintained by the second BGP speaker becomes synchronized to the first routing information base (RIB); instructing the second BGP speaker to become the active BGP speaker; and after the second BGP speaker becomes the active BGP speaker, resuming operation of the transport-layer protocol to the network element.