Patent ID: 7508772

Claim:
A method for partial graceful restart in Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: at a first BGP host, detecting that a first BGP session established between the first BGP host and a second BGP host has become unavailable; in a Forwarding Information Base (FIB) at the first BGP host, replacing a first set of one or more routes to one or more address destinations with a second set of one or more routes to the one or more address destinations, wherein: the first set of one or more routes indicates that the one or more address destinations are reachable through the second BGP host; and the second set of one or more routes indicates that the one or more address destinations are reachable through a third BGP host; at the first BGP host, receiving a BGP OPEN message from the second BGP host to open a new BGP session between the first BGP host and the second BGP host; and in response to receiving the BGP OPEN message, re-installing the first set of one or more routes in the FIB at the first BGP host.