Caching and forwarding router advertisements
View Patent ↗Provided are devices, computer-program products, and methods (e.g. methods implemented on a network device) for caching and forwarding router advertisements. In some implementations, a router advertisement may be received by a network device. In these implementations, a router advertisement may include router service information. The router service information may correspond to a service associated with a router on a network. In some implementations, the router advertisement is stored. In some implementations, a router solicitation is also received. In these implementations, the router solicitation is associated with a client device on the network. In some implementations, the stored router advertisement is transmitted. In these implementations, the stored router advertisement is sent as a unicast packet. The stored router advertisement may facilitate a connection to the network when the stored router advertisement is received at the client device that was associated with the router solicitation.
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving, at a network device, a plurality of router advertisements from a plurality of routers, wherein the plurality of router advertisements include router service information corresponding to services associated with the plurality of routers on a network;
storing the plurality of router advertisements;
receiving a router solicitation from a new client device joining a particular sub-network, wherein the router solicitation includes a request for router service information;
determining a router from the plurality of routers to be employed by the new client device based upon a selection criterion;
selecting one of the plurality of stored router advertisements based upon the determining; and
transmitting the selected one of the plurality of stored router advertisements as a unicast packet to the new client device, wherein at least one other client device in the particular sub-network receives the selected router advertisement as a multicast packet, and wherein the selected router advertisement facilitates a connection to the network when the selected router advertisement is received at the new client device associated with the router solicitation.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of router advertisements each correspond to a different router on the network.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is a periodic router advertisement.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is a solicited router advertisement.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forwarding the router solicitation, wherein forwarding includes transmitting the router solicitation on one or more outgoing ports;
receiving an additional router advertisement; and storing the additional router advertisement.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is the most recent router advertisement associated with the router.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the most recent router advertisement is a periodic router advertisement.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the most recent router advertisement is a solicited router advertisement.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting further comprises:
transmitting the one stored router advertisement to an access point, wherein the access point is anchored at the network device.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the client device is anchored at the network device.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection criterion comprises which routers are to be employed as default gateways for the new client device.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection criterion comprises which routers have subnet prefixes to be employed by the new client device.
13. A network device, comprising:
one or more processors;
a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including;
receiving a plurality of router advertisements from a plurality of routers, wherein the plurality of router advertisements include router service information corresponding to services associated with the plurality of routers on a network;
storing the plurality of router advertisements;
receiving a router solicitation from a new client device joining a particular subnetwork, wherein the router solicitation includes a request for router service information;
determining a router from the plurality of routers to be employed by the new client device based upon a selection criterion;
selecting one of the plurality of stored router advertisements based upon the determining; and
transmitting the selected one of the plurality of stored router advertisements as a unicast packet to the new client device, wherein at least one other client device in the particular sub-network receives the selected router advertisement as a multicast packet, and wherein the selected router advertisement facilitates a connection to the network when the selected router advertisement is received at the new client device associated with the router solicitation.
14. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of router advertisements each correspond to a different router on the network.
15. The network device of claim 14 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:
selecting one of the plurality of stored router advertisements for transmitting.
16. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is a periodic router advertisement.
17. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is a solicited router advertisement.
18. The network device of claim 13 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:
forwarding the router solicitation, wherein forwarding includes transmitting the router solicitation on one or more outgoing ports;
receiving an additional router advertisement; and storing the additional router advertisement.
19. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is the most recent router advertisement associated with the router.
20. The network device of claim 19 , wherein the most recent router advertisement is a periodic router advertisement.
21. The network device of claim 19 , wherein the most recent router advertisement is a solicited router advertisement.
22. The network device of claim 13 , wherein transmitting further comprises:
transmitting the stored router advertisement to an access point, wherein the access point is anchored at the network device.
23. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the client device is anchored at the network device.
24. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a network device, including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
receive a plurality of router advertisements from a plurality of routers, wherein the plurality of router advertisements include router service information corresponding to services associated with the plurality of routers on a network;
store the plurality of router advertisements;
receive a router solicitation from a new client device joining a particular sub-network, wherein the router solicitation includes a request for router service information;
determine a router from the plurality of routers to be employed by the new client device based upon a selection criterion;
select one of the plurality of stored router advertisements based upon the determining; and
transmit the selected one of the plurality of stored router advertisements as a unicast packet to the new client device, wherein at least one other client device in the particular sub-network receives the selected router advertisement as a multicast packet, and wherein the selected router advertisement facilitates a connection to the network when the selected router advertisement is received at the new client device associated with the router solicitation.
25. The computer-program product of claim 24 , wherein the plurality of router advertisements each correspond to a different router on the network.
26. The computer-program product of claim 25 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
select one of the plurality of stored router advertisements for transmitting.
27. The computer-program product of claim 24 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is a periodic router advertisement.
28. The computer-program product of claim 24 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is a solicited router advertisement.
29. The computer-program product of claim 24 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;
forward the router solicitation, wherein forwarding includes transmitting the router solicitation on one or more outgoing ports;
receive an additional router advertisement; and store the additional router advertisement.
30. The computer-program product of claim 24 , wherein the one stored router advertisement is the most recent router advertisement associated with the router.
31. The computer-program product of claim 30 , wherein the most recent router advertisement is a periodic router advertisement.
32. The computer-program product of claim 30 , wherein the most recent router advertisement is a solicited router advertisement.
33. The computer-program product of claim 24 , wherein transmitting further comprises:
transmitting the stored router advertisement to an access point, wherein the access point is anchored at the network device.
34. The computer-program product of claim 24 , wherein the client device is anchored at the network device.