Node protection for a software defined replicator

A method for use in a controller that participates in a control plane, the method comprising:

• selecting a primary node to replicate multicast traffic and forward the multicast traffic to a plurality of receivers, the selecting based in software;
• selecting a plurality of secondary nodes to provide node-level redundancy for the primary node;
• and
• providing the plurality of secondary nodes with synchronization information that enables the plurality of secondary nodes to replicate the multicast traffic, suppress the replicated multicast traffic at the secondary nodes, and forward the replicated multicast traffic to the plurality of receivers in response to the primary node becoming unavailable.

One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying instructions that, when executed by a processor of a controller that participates in a control plane, cause the performance of operations including:

• selecting a primary node to replicate multicast traffic and forward the multicast traffic to a plurality of receivers, the selecting based in software;
• selecting plurality of secondary nodes to provide node-level redundancy for the primary node;
• and
• providing the plurality of secondary nodes with synchronization information that enables the plurality of secondary nodes to replicate the multicast traffic, suppress the replication of multicast traffic at the secondary nodes, and forward the replicated multicast traffic to the plurality of receivers in response to the primary node becoming unavailable.