Patent ID: 7933198

Claim:
A first physical routing device that is configurable as part of a virtual router and operable in a first role, said first physical routing device comprising: a central processing unit (CPU); a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, said instructions when executed by said CPU implementing a method of managing failover in said virtual router, said method comprising: comparing a first priority value for said first physical routing device to a second priority value for a second physical routing device that is also part of said virtual router, wherein said second physical routing device has a second role that is different from said first role; changing said first priority value and increasing a value of a metric in response to each occurrence of a triggering event, wherein said value of said metric decreases as a function of time; and yielding said first role to said second physical routing device and assuming said second role in place of said physical routing device if the relative magnitudes of said first and second priority value are reversed as a result of said changing and if said value of said metric does not cross a first threshold, wherein if said value of said metric crosses said first threshold then an attempt to exchange said first and second roles is suppressed even if the relative magnitudes of said first and second priority values are reversed.