Fast Recovery Mechanisms in the Data Plane
- Marco Chiesa ,
- Andrzej Kamisiński ,
- Jacek Rak ,
- Gábor Rétvári ,
- Stefan Schmid
Abstract
In order to meet their stringent dependability requirements, most modern
communication networks support fast-recovery mechanisms in the data
plane. While reactions to failures in the data plane can be
significantly faster compared to control plane mechanisms, implementing
fast recovery in the data plane is challenging, and has recently
received much attention in the literature. This tutorial presents a
systematic overview of packet-based fast-recovery mechanisms in the data
plane, focusing on concepts but structured around different networking
technologies, from traditional link-layer and IP-based mechanisms, over
BGP and MPLS to emerging software-defined networks and programmable
dataplanes. We examine the evolution of fast-recovery standards and
mechanisms over time, and identify and discuss the fundamental
principles and algorithms underlying different mechanisms. We then
present a taxonomy of the state-of-the-art and compile open research
questions.