System and method for providing detection of faults and switching of fabrics in a redundant-architecture communication system

A method of selecting a routing datapath between an active datapath and a redundant datapath for a communication device, said method comprising steps of:

• (i) Monitoring for a first fault occurring in said active datapath;
• (ii) Upon detection of said first fault, switching said routing datapath to said redundant datapath;
• and
• (iii) Monitoring for a subsequent fault occurring in said active datapath and said redundant datapath;
• (iv) Tracking said subsequent fault with any previous faults for active and redundant datapaths and evaluating said subsequent fault with said any previous faults against a threshold;
• and
• (v) If said threshold is exceeded and if said subsequent fault is associated with said active datapath, switching said routing datapath of said communications from active datapath to said redundant datapath.

A method of selecting a routing datapath between an active datapath and a redundant datapath of a communication device, said method comprising:

• (i) Monitoring for an event occurring in either said active datapath or said redundant datapath;
• (ii) Upon detection of said event
• (ii.1) Updating a first status associated with a first set of components in said active datapath if said event occurred in said active datapath;
• and
• (ii.2) Updating a second status associated with a second set of components in said redundant datapath if said event occurred in said redundant datapath;
• (iii) Performing an evaluation said first status and said second status against at least one failure threshold;
• and
• (iv) Selecting said routing datapath according to said evaluation.

A switch providing a routing datapath between a first datapath in a first fabric and a second datapath in a second fabric, said switch comprising

• said first datapath being an active datapath;
• said second datapath being a redundant datapath for said active datapath;
• a fault detection unit associated with said first and second datapaths;
• a fault analysis unit associated with said fault detection unit;
• a fabric selection unit associated with said fault analysis unit,
• wherein
• said fault detection system monitors for a fault occurring in said active datapath and said redundant datapath;
• Upon detection of said fault, said fault analysis unit evaluates severity of said fault against a threshold;
• and
• if said severity of said fault exceeds said threshold
• if said fault is associated with said active datapath, said fabric selection unit switches said routing datapath from said active datapath to said redundant datapath.

A switch providing a routing datapath between a first datapath in a first fabric and a second datapath in a second fabric, said switch comprising

• said first datapath being an active datapath;
• said second datapath being a redundant datapath for said active datapath;
• a fault detection unit associated with said first and second datapaths;
• a fault analysis unit associated with said fault detection unit;
• and
• a fabric selection unit associated with said fault analysis unit,
• wherein
• said fault detection unit monitors for a first fault occurring in said active datapath;
• upon detection of said first fault, said fabric selection unit switches said routing datapath to said redundant datapath;
• said fault detection unit monitors for a subsequent fault occurring in said active datapath and said redundant datapath;
• said fault analysis unit tracks and reports said subsequent fault to said fabric selection unit;
• said fabric selection unit evaluates said subsequent fault with any previous faults for active and redundant datapaths and evaluates said subsequent fault with said any previous faults against a threshold;
• and
• if said threshold is exceeded and if said subsequent fault is associated with said active datapath, said fabric selection unit switches said routing datapath from active datapath to said redundant datapath.