| CPC H04L 45/026 (2013.01) [H04L 67/54 (2022.05); H04L 12/66 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |

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1. A method, comprising:
receiving, at a network switch, a status message from a peer switch in a digital communication network;
determining, by a network processing unit (NPU) in the network switch, that an entry for the peer switch exists in a peer table associated with the network switch;
causing a hit bit, corresponding to the peer switch, to be refreshed by the NPU to indicate receipt of the status message; and
maintaining a connection between the network switch and the peer switch without sending information for the status message to a host processor associated with the network switch, wherein the NPU does not notify the host processor of a state of the connection between the network switch and the peer switch until the NPU determines, based in part upon the hit bit for the peer switch not being refreshed for at least a threshold period of time, that the connection is no longer to be active.
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