AIA enhancements to support L2 connected networks
First Claim
1. A method for determining a routing for packets, the method comprising:
- coupling with one or more inline tool devices and a plurality of networks, two or more of the networks of the plurality of networks having a Layer 2 (L2) connection between the two or more networks of the plurality of networks, the L2 connection providing for communication between the two or more networks of the plurality of networks;
processing an ingress packet received from an ingress inline network port to extract a source Media Access Control (MAC) address and a port identifier associated with the source MAC address;
looking up the extracted source MAC address of the ingress packet in a MAC address table;
forwarding the ingress packet to the one or more inline tool devices;
processing an egress packet received from the one or more inline tool devices to extract at least one of a source MAC address and a destination MAC address;
looking up the extracted source MAC address of the egress packet in the MAC address table;
detecting whether there is an L2 connection based on finding the MAC source address in the MAC address table; and
transmitting the egress packet to an egress inline network port, the egress inline network port being selected based on whether the L2 connection was detected and at least one of the looked up source MAC address and the extracted destination MAC address of the egress packet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for determining a routing for packets aggregated from multiple Layer 2 (L2) networks is provided. An ingress packet is received from an ingress inline network port and is processed to extract a source Media Access Control (MAC) address and a port identifier associated with the source MAC address. The extracted source MAC address of the ingress packet is looked up in a MAC address table. The ingress packet is forwarded to an inline tool device. When an egress packet is received back from the inline tool device it is processed to extract source and destination MAC addresses. The extracted source and destination MAC addresses of the egress packet are looked up in the MAC address table. The egress packet is transmitted to an egress inline port based on the looked up destination MAC address.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining a routing for packets, the method comprising:
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coupling with one or more inline tool devices and a plurality of networks, two or more of the networks of the plurality of networks having a Layer 2 (L2) connection between the two or more networks of the plurality of networks, the L2 connection providing for communication between the two or more networks of the plurality of networks; processing an ingress packet received from an ingress inline network port to extract a source Media Access Control (MAC) address and a port identifier associated with the source MAC address; looking up the extracted source MAC address of the ingress packet in a MAC address table; forwarding the ingress packet to the one or more inline tool devices; processing an egress packet received from the one or more inline tool devices to extract at least one of a source MAC address and a destination MAC address; looking up the extracted source MAC address of the egress packet in the MAC address table; detecting whether there is an L2 connection based on finding the MAC source address in the MAC address table; and transmitting the egress packet to an egress inline network port, the egress inline network port being selected based on whether the L2 connection was detected and at least one of the looked up source MAC address and the extracted destination MAC address of the egress packet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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one or more inline tool devices configured to monitor and analyze a flow of network traffic; a plurality of networks, two or more of the networks of the plurality of networks having an Layer 2 (L2) connection between the two or more networks of the plurality of networks, the L2 connection providing for communication between the two or more networks of the plurality of networks; and an Advanced Inline Aggregation (AIA) device connected to each of the plurality of networks and connected to the one or more inline tool devices, the AIA device having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed on the AIA device cause the AIA device to; process an ingress packet received from an ingress inline network port of the AIA device connected to one of the plurality of networks to extract a source Media Access Control (MAC) address and a port identifier associated with the source MAC address; look up the extracted source MAC address of the ingress packet in a MAC address table; forward the ingress packet to the one or more inline tool devices; process an egress packet received from the one or more inline tool devices to extract at least one of a source MAC address and the destination MAC address; look up the extracted source MAC address of the egress packet in the MAC address table detect whether there is an L2 connection based on finding the MAC source address in the MAC address table; and transmit the egress packet to an egress inline network port connected to the one of the plurality of networks, the egress inline network port being selected based on whether the L2 connection was detected and at least one of the looked up source MAC address and the extracted destination MAC address of the egress packet. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification