Method and apparatus for deriving a standard MAC address from physical location
First Claim
1. A system for assigning a Media Access Control (MAC) address to a physical location in a network, comprising:
- a slot having a physical location in a network;
a slot MAC address assigned to said slot, said slot for receiving a card having a card MAC address;
means for reprogramming the card MAC address with said slot MAC address, wherein a received data frame having said card MAC address as a destination address is ignored by the card and a received data frame having said slot MAC address is accepted by the card.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A media access control (MAC) address is associated with a particular hardware location (e.g. slot) in the network rather than to the card itself. Thus, the card'"'"'s MAC address assigned by the manufacturer is effectively ignored. When a card is first plugged into a slot, it is initialized with the MAC address of the slot. Thus, if a destination address in a received data frame matches the MAC address of the slot, the card will recognize the data frame. Likewise, when a Card transmits a data frame, the source address in the frame is changed to match the Slot MAC address prior to being sent over the network. This has the advantage that no update of additional databases/servers need be made upon hardware replacement. Further, it is very useful in identifying sources of messages or localizing faults in the communication network.
29 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for assigning a Media Access Control (MAC) address to a physical location in a network, comprising:
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a slot having a physical location in a network;
a slot MAC address assigned to said slot, said slot for receiving a card having a card MAC address;
means for reprogramming the card MAC address with said slot MAC address, wherein a received data frame having said card MAC address as a destination address is ignored by the card and a received data frame having said slot MAC address is accepted by the card. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of for assigning a Media Access Control (MAC) address to a physical location in a network, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of slots connected to a physical location in a network;
assigning each of said slots a unique slot MAC address;
connecting a card having a card MAC address into one of said plurality of slots; and
initializing said card by reprogramming said card with said Slot MAC address. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15)
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13. In a system for assigning a Media Access Control (MAC) address to a physical location in a network, a computer readable medium, having instructions for causing the computer to execute the steps of:
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determining when a card is connected to a slot having a physical location in a network, said card having a card MAC address and said slot having a slot MAC address;
initializing said card by reprogramming said card to respond to said slot MAC address.
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Specification