Non-Stop Routing of Routing Protocol

A method for a router having a single routing engine to implement non-stop routing of a routing protocol, the method comprises:

• when the routing engine is operating normally, saving neighbor state information into a nonvolatile memory;
• and
• after the routing engine reboots:
• maintaining neighbor relationships based on the neighbor state information;
• obtaining routing information based on the neighbor state information saved in the nonvolatile memory;
• generating local routes based on the routing information;
• determining best routes based on the local routes;
• sending the best routes to neighboring routers, and
• saving the best routes to local hardware.

An apparatus to implement non-stop routing of a routing protocol, comprising:

• a primary routing engine comprising a backup unit to back up neighbor state information to a backup routing engine when the primary routing engine is operating normally;
• the backup routing engine, comprising:
• a storage unit to save the neighbor state information from the backup unit;
• a route processor to, when the backup routing engine takes over for the primary routing engine, maintain neighbor relationships based on the neighbor state information, obtain routing information based on the neighbor state information saved in the storage unit, generate local routes based on the routing information, and determine best routes based on the local routes;
• and
• a route distributer to send the best routes to neighboring routers and to save the best routes to local hardware.

An apparatus to implement non-stop routing of a routing protocol, comprising:

• a single routing engine, comprising:
• a backup unit to save neighbor state information into nonvolatile memory when the routing engine is operating normally;
• a route processor to, after the routing engine reboots, maintain neighbor relationships based on the neighbor state information, obtain routing information based on the neighbor state information saved in the nonvolatile memory, generate local routes based on the routing information, and determining best routes based on the local routes;
• and
• a routing distributer to send the best routes to neighboring routers and save the best routes to local hardware.