Patent ID: 6915445

Claim:
A method for providing fault-tolerance for Multi-Path Label Switching (MPLS) functionality in a multi-processor network routing node, comprising the steps of; (a) implementing an MPLS server application including state information, on a first and a second processor in the node; (b) designating the MPLS server on the first processor as a master server and the MPLS server on the second processor as a backup server, and providing MPLS functionality in the node with the master MPLS server; (c) directing all required MPLS events to both the master and the backup MPLS servers during operation; (d) monitoring operation of the master server; and (e) in the event of failure of the master server, designating the backup server as the master, allowing MPLS functions to continue on the routing node; wherein, in step (d), monitoring is accomplished by a software distribution module (SDM) executing on a third processor in the node.