System and method for performing a seamless switchover from a primary packet router to a secondary packet router

摘要

There is disclosed a redundant switch comprising a primary controller capable of routing data packets from an input interface to an output interface and a secondary controller capable of performing data packet routing tasks performed by the primary controller after a switchover. The primary controller comprises: 1) an inbound queue capable of storing data packets inbound to the redundant switch; 2) an outbound queue capable of storing data packets outbound from the redundant switch; and 3) a control processor capable of processing a first data packet stored in the inbound queue and assigning an identifier to the first data packet, wherein the control processor further assigns the identifier to a second data packet, the second data packet associated with the first data packet and stored in one of the inbound queue and the outbound queue, wherein the first data packet is removed from the inbound queue only upon completion of all processing associated with the first data packet and wherein a removal of the first data packet from the inbound queue enables the second data packet to be transferred to the secondary controller during a switchover.