Patent ID: 8755389

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: maintaining a set of routing path groups, wherein each routing path group is a distinct set of paths, wherein a path identifies a network address and a device interface identifier, and wherein each routing path group has an associated identifier; maintaining a set of routes of a routing protocol, wherein each route is identified by a destination network address prefix, wherein each route identifies a set of paths, and wherein each route is associated with a routing path group identifier of a routing path group that corresponds to the identified set of paths; receiving one or more updated routes; determining that a received updated route identifies a new set of paths different from each routing path group in the maintained set of routing path groups; creating a new routing path group corresponding to the new set of paths; determining that each received updated route that identifies the new set of paths corresponds to a maintained route that is associated with a particular routing path group identifier; assigning to the new routing path group an identifier of the particular routing path group; converting the new routing path group to a corresponding new flow path group; and replacing on a network device a particular flow path group that was converted from the particular routing path group with the converted new flow path group.