Patent ID: 7778248

Claim:
A method of prioritizing the processing of information in a network element, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: assigning a priority to a particular routing table that stores routing information received at the network element; wherein the particular routing table is one of a plurality of routing tables stored in a Routing Information Base (RIB) at the network element; wherein the priority is a particular priority of a plurality of priorities that can be assigned to each of the plurality of routing tables; storing the priority in association with the particular routing table that stores the routing information in the RIB of the network element; and transferring the routing information within the network element from the RIB to a Forwarding Information Base (FIB) of the network element according to the priority assigned to the particular routing table that stores the routing information; wherein the step of transferring the routing information within the network element comprises transferring the routing information before transferring from the RIB to the FIB other routing information that is stored in other routing tables that are assigned a lower priority, of the plurality of priorities, than the particular priority.