Root Controlled Bridging: A scalable control protocol for Shortest Path Bridging

Standardization bodies are working on the development of new Carrier Ethernet solutions to remove the current scaling limitations and improve network management. One of them is the IEEE 802.1aq Shortest Path Bridging (SPB), which provides the transmission of unicast and multicast frames on the shortest path in a bridged network. In this paper we propose a novel control protocol for link-state SPB, which can be implemented as an extension to Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) routing protocol. We show that our proposal solves scalability problems that arise when a link-state control protocol is applied in SPB. Furthermore, the proposed control protocol assures loop free operation, which is essential for Ethernet networks. We also provide a performance analysis of our new control protocol.