Patent ID: 7248560

Claim:
A method for selecting an active router in a telecommunication device, comprising: providing a plurality of routers in the telecommunication device, each router comprising a relay having a first position and a second position; coupling each of the relays of the routers to a single physical link; monitoring a status for each of the routers; and electing one of the routers as an active router by positioning its corresponding relay, wherein the step of electing comprises: determining a performance parameter for each router; electing the active router based on the performance parameters according to an election protocol; positioning the relays of the routers based on the election, wherein positioning the relays comprises: determining a particular time for positioning the relays using the election protocol; and positioning the relays at the particular time, wherein: each router is represented as an interface in hot standby routing protocol (HSRP); the performance parameter for each router comprises an interface health score; the HSRP makes a determination of the active routers based on the health scores; and the HSRP automatically updates network components on the selection of the active router.