Fast Failure Detection in Multipoint Networks

Bridged Ethernet and IP routing and forwarding are without any doubt the most deployed network technologies, mainly because of their robust, low-cost and easy-to-deploy-character. Solutions to provide fast recovery over these technologies are thus a highly desired feature. Fast recovery not only needs a fast switchover (e.g. using IPFastReRoute), but also requires fast failure detection. However, few efficient failure detection mechanisms are available over Ethernet networks, i.e. multi-access broadcast capable networks. We present an efficient multipoint Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) scheme running directly over Ethernet. We prove its value through emulation and evaluate its time performance and resource consumption.