Efficient fail over to backup link
A system and method for efficient fast failover of a primary link to a secondary link comprising monitoring an amount of user packets on said primary link and sending synthetic packets on said secondary link at a predetermined rate based on said amount of user packets wherein said predetermined rate is changed as a function of change in said amount of user packets.
1 . A method for managing synthetic packet transmission on a backup link, the method comprising:
determining a first rate of data packets on a primary link;
based at least in part on the first rate of data packets:
determining a first synthetic packet rate based at least in part on the first rate of data packets on the primary link, wherein the backup link is configured to be activated to carry data traffic in case of a degradation of the primary link; and
keeping the backup link alive by sending, on the backup link, synthetic packets at the determined first synthetic packet rate; and
determining a second rate of data packets on the primary link, wherein the second rate of data packets is different from the first rate of data packets;
based at least in part on the determined second rate of data packets on the primary link:
determining a second synthetic packet rate different from the first synthetic packet rate; and
sending, on the backup link, synthetic packets at the determined second synthetic packet, wherein the second synthetic packet rate is determined as a function of the second rate of data packets on the primary link.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the primary link is a fixed link and the backup link is a wireless link.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting the rate of the data packets on the primary link counts only packets of high priority.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the synthetic packet rate is based directly on a rate at which data packets are sent on the primary link.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the synthetic packets sent on the backup link is proportional to an amount of high priority data packets on the primary link.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the synthetic packets sent on the backup link is proportional to an amount of voice and video type data packets on the primary link.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the synthetic packets are sent such that the failover of the primary link to the backup link is within an expected delay.
8 . A network device system for managing synthetic packet transmission on a backup link, the network device system comprising a network device comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; and a control unit configured to access the instructions in the memory and to: determine a first rate of data packets on a primary link; based at least in part on the first rate of data packets: determine a first synthetic packet rate based at least in part on the first rate of data packets on the primary link, wherein the backup link is configured to be activated to carry data traffic in case of a degradation of the primary link; and keep said backup link alive by sending, on the backup link, synthetic packets at the determined first synthetic packet rate; determine a second rate of data packets on the primary link, wherein the second rate of data packets is different from the first rate of data packets; based at least in part on the determined second rate of data packets on the primary link: determine a second synthetic packet rate different from the first synthetic packet rate; and send, on the backup link, synthetic packets at the determined second synthetic packet, wherein the second synthetic packet rate is determined as a function of the second rate of data packets on the primary link.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the primary link is a fixed link and the backup link is a wireless link.
10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the detecting the rate of data packets on the primary link counts only packets of high priority.
11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the synthetic packet rate is proportional to the detected rate of the data packets on the primary link.
12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the synthetic packet rate is based directly on the detected rate at which the data packets are sent on the primary link.
13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein an amount of the synthetic packets sent on the backup link is proportional to an amount of high priority data packets on the primary link.
14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein an amount of the synthetic packets sent on the backup link is proportional to an amount of voice and video type data packets on the primary link.