Bala A Andrapalliyal

US Patent:

20060215578, Sep 28, 2006

Filed:

Mar 25, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/089801

Inventors:

Bala Andrapalliyal - Bedminster NJ, US
Frank Feather - Englishtown NJ, US
Tejas Naik - Edison NJ, US

International Classification:

H04L 12/28

US Classification:

370254000

Abstract:

A method for optimal assignment of customer edge (CE) routers to virtual private network route forwarding (VRF) tables uses a “peer model”, in which the CE routers communicate their routes to a Service Provider's edge routers (PE routers). The routes of a particular VPN are then exchanged among the PE routers that are attached to that VPN. This is accomplished in a manner which ensures that routes from different VPNs remain distinct and separate, even if two VPNs comprise an overlapping address space. The PE routers distribute, to the CE routers in a particular VPN, the routes from other CE routers in that VPN. The CE routers do not peer with each other and, as such, there is no “overlay” visible to a VPN's routing algorithm.