Method and system for router redundancy in a wide area network

A telecommunication device, comprising:

• a plurality of routers, each router operable to determine a performance parameter for that router;
• a bus operable to communicate the performance parameters between the routers;
• a physical link;
• for each router, a relay operable to couple the router to the physical link, each relay having a first position and a second position, each router operable to position the relay based on the performance parameters received from the other routers;
• and
• an election protocol running on the route processor, operable to:
• determine based on the signal whether the relay needs to be repositioned;
• and
• reposition the relay at a particular time such that the relay is repositioned in synchronization with a corresponding relay in the other router, wherein:
• each router is represented as an interface in hot standby routing protocol (HSRP);
• the performance parameter for each router comprises an interface health score;
• the HSRP makes a determination of the active routers based on the health scores;
• and
• the HSRP automatically updates network components on the selection of the active router.

A system for providing router redundancy, comprising:

• a single physical link;
• a plurality of routers coupled to the single physical link, each router comprising a relay, each relay having a connected position connecting the router to the single physical link and a disconnected position operable to interrupt the connection between the router and the single physical link;
• means for coupling each of the relays to a single physical link;
• means for monitoring a status for each of the routers;
• and
• means for electing one of the routers as an active router by positioning its corresponding relay, wherein:
• each router is represented as an interface in hot standby routing protocol (HSRP);
• the performance parameter for each router comprises an interface health score;
• the HSRP makes a determination of the active routers based on the health scores;
• and
• the HSRP automatically updates network components on the selection of the active router.

A method for selecting an active router in a telecommunication device, comprising:

• providing a plurality of routers coupled to a single physical link, each router comprising a relay having a connected position allowing information to be communicated to the physical link and a disconnected position interrupting communication of information to the physical link;
• determining a performance parameter for each router;
• determining one of the routers as an active router based on the performance parameters;
• positioning the relay of the active router in the connected position;
• positioning the relays of all of the other routers in the disconnected position, wherein:
• each router is represented as an interface in hot standby routing protocol (HSRP);
• the performance parameter for each router comprises an interface health score;
• the HSRP makes a determination of the active routers based on the health scores;
• and
• the HSRP automatically updates network components on the selection of the active router.

A router, comprising:

• a network interface operable to receive a signal from at least one other router;
• a relay operable to couple to a physical link, the relay having a first position and a second position;
• a route processor operable to position the relay based on the signal;
• and
• an election protocol running on the route processor, operable to:
• determine based on the signal whether the relay needs to be repositioned;
• and
• reposition the relay at a particular time such that the relay is repositioned in synchronization with a corresponding relay in the other routers wherein:
• each router is represented as an interface in hot standby routing protocol (HSRP);
• the performance parameter for each router comprises an interface health score;
• the HSRP makes a determination of the active routers based on the health scores;
• and
• the HSRP automatically updates network components on the selection of the active router.