6.5. The Poll Sequence

A Poll Sequence is an exchange of BFD Control packets that is used in some circumstances to ensure that the remote system is aware of parameter changes. It is also used in Demand mode (see section 6.6) to validate bidirectional connectivity.

A Poll Sequence consists of a system sending periodic BFD Control packets with the Poll (P) bit set. When the other system receives a Poll, it immediately transmits a BFD Control packet with the Final (F) bit set, independent of any periodic BFD Control packets it may be sending (see section 6.8.7). When the system sending the Poll sequence receives a packet with Final, the Poll Sequence is terminated, and any subsequent BFD Control packets are sent with the Poll bit cleared. A BFD Control packet MUST NOT have both the Poll (P) and Final (F) bits set.

If periodic BFD Control packets are already being sent (the remote system is not in Demand mode), the Poll Sequence MUST be performed by setting the Poll (P) bit on those scheduled periodic transmissions; additional packets MUST NOT be sent.

After a Poll Sequence is terminated, the system requesting the Poll Sequence will cease the periodic transmission of BFD Control packets if the remote end is in Demand mode; otherwise, it will return to the periodic transmission of BFD Control packets with the Poll (P) bit clear.

Typically, the entire sequence consists of a single packet in each direction, though packet losses or relatively long packet latencies may result in multiple Poll packets to be sent before the sequence terminates.