System and method for providing improved failover performance for pseudowires

A computer-readable medium that stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

• specifying a physical interface at a first PE node in a network;
• specifying a first control path from the first PE node to a second PIE node in the network;
• specifying a second control path from the first PE ode to a third PE node in the network;
• specifying a plurality of redundant combinations of pseudowires (PWs), wherein each redundant combination includes a primary pseudowire that is configured as a virtual circuit between the physical interface of the first PE node and the second PE node and a backup pseudowire that is configured as a virtual circuit between the physical interface of the first PE node and the third PE node;
• grouping the pseudowires into a primary PW group that includes the primary pseudowires and a backup PW group that includes the backup pseudowires;
• and
• using group identifiers for the PW groups to assign an active status to the primary pseudowires and a standby status to the backup pseudowires, wherein the active status enables data transfers along corresponding PW data paths and the standby status disables data transfers along corresponding PW data paths.

An apparatus comprising:

• a first specification module to specify a physical interface at a first provider edge (PE) node in a network;
• a second specification module to specify a first control path from the first PE node to a second PE node in the network;
• a third specification module to specify a second control path from the first PE node to a third PE node in the network;
• a fourth specification module to specify a plurality of redundant combinations of pseudowires (PWs), wherein each redundant combination includes a primary pseudowire that is configured as a virtual circuit between the physical interface of the first PE node and the second PE node and a backup pseudowire that is configured as a virtual circuit between the physical interface of the first PE node and the third PE node;
• a grouping module to group the pseudowires into a primary PW group that includes the primary pseudowires and a backup PW group that includes the backup pseudowires;
• and
• an assignment module to use group identifiers for the PW groups to assign an active status to the primary pseudowires and a standby status to the backup pseudowires, wherein the active status enables data transfers along corresponding PW data paths and the standby status disables data transfers along corresponding PW data paths.