A method for anticipatory bidirectional packet steering involves receiving, by a first packet steering module of a network, a first encapsulated packet traveling in a forward traffic direction. The first encapsulated packet includes a first encapsulating data structure. The network includes two or more packet steering modules and two or more network nodes. Each of the packet steering modules includes a packet classifier module, a return path learning module, a flow policy table, and a replicated data structure (RDS). The return path learning module of the first packet steering module generates return traffic path information associated with the first encapsulated packet and based on the first encapsulating data structure. The first packet steering module updates the RDS using the return traffic path information and transmits the return traffic path information to one or more other packet steering modules.

A method, apparatus and/or system of selecting a routing in an asymmetric link, in which an arbitrary intermediate node of the at least one intermediate node receives routing request information including a first link quality for a path from the source node to the arbitrary neighbor node from an arbitrary neighbor node of the arbitrary intermediate node, acquires a second link quality for a path between the arbitrary intermediate node and the arbitrary neighbor node, acquires a third link quality based on the first and second link qualities, updates the first link quality in the routing request information with the third link quality, and broadcasts an updated routing request information to other neighbor node for the destination node to determine at least one of a desirable forward path or a desirable backward path from the source node to the destination node, may be provided.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a Multiprotocol Label Switching traffic engineering tunnel establishing method and device. A tunnel establishing method includes: receiving, by a second routing device, an identifier, which is sent by a first routing device, of an MPLS TE tunnel from a first VPN instance to a second VPN instance; acquiring, by the second routing device according to the identifier, path information of the MPLS TE tunnel from the first VPN instance to the second VPN instance; and establishing an MPLS TE tunnel from the second VPN instance to the first VPN instance according to the acquired path information. Therefore, forward and reverse bidirectional tunnels are co-routed or partially co-routed, thereby solving a problem caused by non-co-routing during BFD.

Systems, methods, and software described herein provide enhancements for deploying communication networks in clusters of satellite devices. In one example, a first set of satellite devices is configured to orbit in a first orbital configuration, and a second set of satellite devices is configured to orbit in a second orbital configuration. A communication network is formed among the satellite devices and is configured to selectively exchange communications among satellite devices in the first orbital configuration and satellite devices the second orbital configuration based at least in part on an operational status of the communication network.

The present application provides virtual shortest path tree establishment and processing methods and a path computation element, so as to improve a resource utilization rate in a process of establishing and processing a virtual shortest path tree. In a process of establishing the virtual shortest path tree, a cost of an established path from a root node (a destination node) to a leaf node is compared with a cost threshold, and a new path branch is added to the VSPT when the cost is less than the cost threshold. In a process of processing the virtual shortest path tree, a resource occupied by a path branch in the VSPT that does not belong to an optimal path is released after the optimal path is obtained.

A node receives, from a center node, a request packet including a data part in which a MAC address and position information of the center node are described, determines whether or not there is a request destination node, where determining that there is the request destination node, additionally describes a MAC address and position information of the node itself in the data part, and transmits the described request packet to the request destination node, where determining that there is no request destination node, determines that the node itself is a terminal node, where determining that the node itself is the terminal node, generates a reply packet including a data part in which all of MAC addresses and all pieces of position information described in the data part of the received request packet are described, and transmits the reply packet to a request source node.

In one embodiment, a router in a network reports, a supervisor, capabilities of the router to support fast reroute. The router receives a prediction model from the supervisor that is able to predict failures along a path in the network. The router predicts, using the prediction model, a failure along a primary path in the network that is currently being used by the router to send traffic. The router performs, in advance of the failure predicted by the router, a fast reroute of at least a portion of the traffic from the primary path to a backup path in the network.

Systems, methods, and software described herein provide enhancements for deploying communication networks in clusters of satellite devices. In one example, satellite devices are configured to orbit in an orbital layer defined by an orbital configuration. A communication network is formed among the satellite devices and configured to exchange communications in at least two oppositely circulating directions with respect to an orbital direction of the satellites in the orbital layer.

Embodiments are directed to receiving an original packet at a service function; determining, for a reverse packet, a reverse service path identifier for a previous hop on a service function chain; determining, for the reverse packet, a service index for the reverse service path identifier; and transmitting the reverse packet to the previous hop on the service function chain.

Systems, methods, and software described herein provide enhancements for deploying communication networks in clusters of satellite devices. In one example, satellite devices are configured to orbit in an orbital layer defined by an orbital configuration. A communication network is formed among the satellite devices and configured to exchange communications in at least two oppositely circulating directions with respect to an orbital direction of the satellites in the orbital layer.