System and method of dynamically switching among multiple WANs for data transmission to and from a LAN based on real-time network performance. Each WAN may be owned by a respective Internet Service Provider (ISP) of the LAN. A switching device coupled between the WAN and the LAN evaluates the real-time network performance of the current WAN used for data transmission between a LAN user device and a target IP address. If the network performance deteriorates, the switching device may select a different WAN for the data transmission according to a set of service quality policies. The switching device may maintain a flow table to control data routing and communicate with other components in the LAN in compliance with the OpenFlow protocol.

A method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for wireless communication are provided. In one aspect, an apparatus is configured to determine that a multi-hop feature is enabled for a service and to transmit, based on the determination, a multi-hop attribute that may include at least one of an identifier provided by a publisher device or a hop count associated with the service. In another aspect, an apparatus is configured to determine a data scheduling protocol for a multi-hop service and to communicate with one or more wireless devices based on the determined data scheduling protocol.

A method and an apparatus for routing data packets. The solution in a communication network including a set of nodes, storing information regarding nodes of the network; and when transmitting a data packet to a destination node in the network, determining and including in the data packet the recipient identification; determining and including in the data packet the direction of the destination node in the network; determining and including in the data packet a hop count indicator indicating the number of node-to-node hops to the destination node; setting in the data packet the transmission direction indicator equal to a value corresponding to direction down and transmitting the packet.

In one embodiment, network metrics are collected and analyzed in a network having nodes interconnected by communication links. Then, it is predicted whether a network element failure is relatively likely to occur based on the collected and analyzed network metrics. In response to predicting that a network element failure is relatively likely to occur, traffic in the network is rerouted in order to avoid the network element failure before it is likely to occur.

In one embodiment, a technique for implementing precision time protocol (PTP) over a packet transport (e.g., IPv4, IPv6, etc.) with clock redundancy is provided. The technique may involve maintaining clock synchronization by a PTP node, where the PTP node participates in an exchange of one or more messages with a current master node and at least one connected node that is a slave to the PTP node. The technique may also involve detecting one or more conditions that prompt a switch to a new master PTP node. The technique may further involve selecting the new master PTP node, and determining, based on the selection, whether the new master PTP node is a slave to the PTP node. The technique may yet further involve taking action, based on the determination, to indicate to the new master PTP node that the PTP node is not a suitable master.

A packet is received at a network device hosting a service function that is part of a service chain. The packet is sent to the network device from an originating network device. The content of the packet is analyzed to determine that the packet comprises a request for statistical values to be aggregated by the network device. The statistical values are aggregated at the network device. A report comprising the statistical values aggregated at the network device is generated. The report is sent to the originating network device.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a wireless node in a wireless network with a grid topology for routing a message. The wireless node includes circuitry configured to receive a message including a destination node identification number, calculate a destination column and a destination row based on the destination node identification number, determine a next hop address based on the destination column and the destination row, and transmit the message including the next hop address to a next hop node.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for generating a route entry, including: receiving, by a first BGP speaker, a first route message and a second route message that are distributed respectively by a second BGP speaker by using a first distribution path and a second distribution path; determining, by the first BGP speaker, that a quantity of next hops in a first next hop list attribute is less than a quantity of next hops in a second next hop list attribute; and generating, by the first BGP speaker, a route entry according to path attributes, of a path towards a destination, in the first route message. In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a first BGP speaker. The foregoing technical solution helps reduce a workload in configuring route preference policies.

A wireless mesh network includes mesh access points (mesh APs) and a root access point (RAP) forming a root of a tree of the mesh APs in which the mesh APs are linked back to the RAP through parent-child relationships over wireless backhaul links. A mesh AP provides access to the mesh network via connections to wireless clients in one or more wireless local area networks (WLANs) served by the mesh AP. The mesh AP stores mappings between the one or more WLANs served by the mesh AP and one or more virtual local area networks (VLANs) configured on a wired network and to which the WLANs are assigned. The mesh AP receives mappings between the VLANs configured on the wired network and WLANs served by the mesh AP as known by the RAP. If the stored mappings and the received mappings differ, the mesh AP updates the stored mappings with the received mappings that differ from the stored mappings.

An IP packet may include an IP header and one or more optional IP extension headers. The packet may contain non-IP protocol data in one of the IP extension headers. An application that uses non-IP protocol data may use the non-IP protocol data from the IP extension header. This allows an application designed for a non-IP protocol stack to operate on a device with an IP protocol stack with minimal modification. The non-IP protocol data may alternatively support non-IP routing options within a network or sub-network.