Patent ID: 7656856

Claim:
A method for transmitting a link state packet (LSP) through a network, the method comprising receiving a plurality of LSP fragments for an LSP, wherein the LSP is divided into the plurality of LSP fragments, the plurality of LSP fragments identified with fragment numbers and a common system ID, wherein an importance is attributed to an LSP fragment based on the fragment number; determining an LSP fragment in the plurality of LSP fragments considered to be most important in the plurality of LSP fragments; transmitting the plurality of LSP fragments in sequential order from a first number identifier to a last number identifier based on which LSP fragments are considered to be most important to LSP fragments that are considered to be least important; receiving an update of at least one LSP fragment; identifying the at least one LSP fragment that is updated while the plurality of LSP fragments are being transmitted, the at least one LSP fragment having a number identifier in the sequential order that has been transmitted already; determining if the at least one LSP fragment is associated with the system ID that identified the plurality of LSP fragments; and if the at least one LSP fragments is associated with the system ID, retransmitting the identified at least one LSP fragment before other LSP fragments in the plurality of fragments that have not been transmitted if the identified LSP fragment is considered to be more important than the other LSP fragments not yet transmitted such that the re-transmission of the at least one LSP fragment is performed before transmitting an LSP fragment associated with the last number identifier in the sequential order and is a transmission of an LSP fragment previously transmitted with a same number identifier and system ID as the identifier at least one LSP fragment.