Network protocol having staggered recovery

A network utilizing a link-state protocol includes a plurality of nodes with associated trunks that recover in a staggered manner. A first trunk associated with a first node is selected for recovery. After the first trunk is recovered, further trunks are selected such that N or less trunks recover at the same time until all trunks associated with the first node are selected for recovery. Node recovery is staggered at selected intervals to minimize or eliminate overload conditions. Staggered recovery in accordance with the present invention can reduce the likelihood of trunk loss due to excessive HELLO messages in an OSPF system and retransmission and retransmission lockout.