Summary

  • The IETF document feed recorded draft-sl-rtgwg-far-dcn-26 on 16 August 2026; the active individual Internet-Draft is titled “Generic Fault-Avoidance Routing for Data Center Networks.”
  • The draft describes a method built around regular topology assumptions, learned link state, and two forms of routing information: a basic routing table (BRT) and a negative routing table (NRT).

The Datatracker record labels the text an active individual Internet-Draft, last updated on 16 August. Its status matters more than the revision number: the same record says an Internet-Draft is not endorsed by the IETF and has no formal standing in its standards process. This is a public design input, not a new requirement for data-centre operators.

The revision-26 text frames FAR as a generic way to avoid fault-affected paths in data-centre networks whose structure is regular enough to describe concisely. A fat-tree is its worked example. The method separates learning link state from building routing information and then choosing a forwarding path. Its routing discussion distinguishes the BRT, which records normal forwarding choices, from the NRT, which records paths to avoid when a fault changes the relevant local condition.

The document also narrows its own claim. It says the approach is not meant to replace OSPF or IS-IS, and it is not designed for arbitrary topologies. It names ZTE and Beijing Jiaotong University affiliations, but supplies no proof of implementation, interoperability, production adoption, recovery time, or traffic outcome. Readers should not convert a proposed exception-handling method into a claim about a live fabric.