Patent ID: 8407355

Claim:
A method comprising: storing, by a backup network device, information, associated with a plurality of communication sessions that are supported by a master network device, in a session table of the backup network device, the information including identification information of a communication session, of the plurality of communication sessions, and a session timer associated with the communication session; detecting, by the backup network device, that the session timer, associated with the communication session, has reached a particular value; sending, by the backup network device, a first message to the master network device based on detecting that the session timer has reached the particular value, the first message including the identification information of the communication session; receiving, by the backup network device, a second message or a third message, from the master network device, based on sending the first message to the master network device; determining, by the backup network device, whether the session timer, associated with the communication session, has expired; removing, by the backup network device, an entry, corresponding to the communication session, from the session table, when: the session timer has expired, the first message has been sent to the master network device regarding the communication session, and the second message has been received from the master network device, the second message indicating that information identifying the communication session does not exist in a session table of the master network device; and setting, by the backup network device, the session timer to another value when the third message has been received from the mater network device, the third message: indicating that the information identifying the communication session exists in the session table of the master network device, and including the identification information included in the first message and a timer value, the other value being based on the timer value included in the third message.