Patent ID: 8503288

Claim:
A method comprising: mirroring sequence numbers from a primary control unit to a backup control unit of a network device, wherein the sequence numbers are associated with a network tunnel, and wherein the mirrored sequence numbers include a sequence number of the next packet to be sent for the network tunnel and a sequence number of the next packet expected to be received for the network tunnel; and synchronizing sequence numbers associated with a network communication protocol executed by the backup control unit based on the mirrored sequence numbers from the primary control unit upon failure of the primary control unit by sending, by the backup control unit, a control plane packet to a second network device associated with the network tunnel, wherein the control plane packet includes a sequence number selected to elicit a response from the second device, wherein the sequence number included in the control plane packet is the same as a sequence number that was included in a previous control plane packet sent to the second device prior to sending the control plane packet.