UPDATING LINK STATE INFORMATION NETWORKS

摘要

Methods and apparatus for sending link state information through a network of nodes interconnected by links. Link state packets (LSPs) are fragmented, and the fragments are sent individually through the network. The network routers may update their link state databases and perform routing without having to receive and reassemble all of the fragments. When the state of a link changes, only an amended version of the fragment affected by the change is transmitted. In another aspect, the invention features methods and apparatus for transmitting LSP sequence number information through the network. First, the link state packets being stored by a node are ordered alphabetically according to their source node. Next, a range of this order is selected and placed in a summary packet indicating the boundaries of the selected range and, for each link state packet in the selected range, the source and sequence number of the stored link state packet.