Routingready

Routingready is a term used in computer networking and distributed systems to denote that the routing functionality of a component is prepared to process and forward traffic or messages. It represents a readiness state distinct from a general operational status, indicating that the routing subsystem has loaded necessary data structures, established required connections, and validated policies before accepting traffic.

In practice, routingready can apply to network devices such as routers and switches, software-defined networking controllers, service meshes, and message brokers that route requests between endpoints. It signals that the system has a usable routing plane, including populated route tables or forwarding information bases, active neighbor adjacencies where applicable, and any security or policy engines needed to determine forward paths.

Determining routingready typically involves multiple checks. These may include verification that route or forwarding tables are populated, neighbor relationships or adjacencies are established, policy engines or ACLs are loaded, cryptographic keys or certificates are valid, and dependencies such as control-plane connectivity or data-plane resources are accessible. In modern environments, readiness probes or health endpoints are used to expose routingready status to orchestration systems and monitoring tools.

Operationally, routingready helps prevent premature traffic forwarding and supports graceful startup sequences. Systems that use it may delay accepting new traffic or buffering until routingready is confirmed, then transition to normal routing operation. It is commonly discussed alongside related concepts such as liveness, health, and readiness in distributed architectures.