IN-SERVICE SOFTWARE UPGRADE UTILIZING METADATA-DRIVEN STATE TRANSLATION

摘要

A method and apparatus for a metadata-driven upgrade of a network element is described. A network element comprises an active and backup controller card and receives new software to be installed on that network element. In addition, the network element installs the software on the backup controller card and synchronizes an active state of the network element on the backup controller card. Furthermore, the network element translates the active stat e to a new active state associated with the new software using a set of metadata associated with the new software.