Filter-Based RFD: Can We Stabilize Network Without Sacrificing Reachability Too Much?

Abstract

Internet instability, also referred to as route flaps, can propagate to the whole Internet and consume remarkable computational resource of the routers. Route Flap Damping (RFD) [1] is designed to stabilize the Internet by suppressing persistent route flaps. RFD is a penalty basedmechanism.Themagnitude of the penalty value indicates the degree of instability of an inter-domain route.Once the penalty reaches a certain threshold, the route will be suppressed. This simple mechanism does not work perfectly. First, the way it identifies route flaps or accumulates penalty is too aggressive and may suppress a fairly stable route with a few occasional flaps. Second, a route may be suppressed even after it has converged.