Efficient topology failure detection in SDN networks

摘要

Techniques for performing efficient topology failure detection in SDN networks are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system (e.g., an SDN controller) can transmit a first message to a first network device, where the first message instructs the first network device to begin sending probe packets to a second network device at a predetermined rate. The computer system can further transmit a second message to the second network device, where the second message instructs the second network device to monitor for the probe packets sent by the first network device and to notify the computer system when one or more of the probe packets are not received by the second network device. If the computer system receives such a notification from the second network device, the computer system can determine that a port, link, or node failure has occurred between the first and second network devices.