Method for establishing restricted broadcast groups in a switched network
First Claim
1. A method of restricted flooding of a data packet, of one of a broadcast, multicast and unknown destination type, in a switched data communications network, the network including a plurality of end systems and switches connected by links, the switches having access ports connected to end systems and network ports connected to other switches, the method including steps of:
- a. assigning at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems;
b. mapping the at least one assigned identifier to an access port attached to at least one end system in the respective subset of end systems; and
c. when the data packet is received from a source end system at a receiving access port of a first switch;
i) determining one or more identifiers associated with the source end system;
ii) encapsulating the data packet by adding a header with the one or more determined identifiers;
iii) forwarding the encapsulated data packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network; and
iv) determining if at least one access port other than the receiving access port on the first switch is associated with the one or more determined identifiers and forwarding the data packet out the at least one determined access port.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method and apparatus for establishing restricted broadcast groups in a switched network. The method assigns different virtual LAN identifiers (VLAN-IDs) to different subsets of associated end systems or access ports. Tables are maintained for mapping the VLAN-IDs with associated end systems and access ports. When a broadcast packet is received at a first switch, it is encapsulated with a VLAN header, including the VLAN-IDs, and sent out a multicast channel to all other switches in the network (domain). The original packet is sent out the other access ports of the receiving switch for the designated VLAN-IDs. The switches receiving the VLAN packet remove the header and send the original packet out access ports associated with the VLAN-IDs extracted from the header. The method provides a mechanism for forwarding broadcast packets of a protocol not supported by the switching mechanism, as well as multicast packets and unicast packets from undiscovered end systems.
178 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of restricted flooding of a data packet, of one of a broadcast, multicast and unknown destination type, in a switched data communications network, the network including a plurality of end systems and switches connected by links, the switches having access ports connected to end systems and network ports connected to other switches, the method including steps of:
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a. assigning at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems; b. mapping the at least one assigned identifier to an access port attached to at least one end system in the respective subset of end systems; and c. when the data packet is received from a source end system at a receiving access port of a first switch; i) determining one or more identifiers associated with the source end system; ii) encapsulating the data packet by adding a header with the one or more determined identifiers; iii) forwarding the encapsulated data packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network; and iv) determining if at least one access port other than the receiving access port on the first switch is associated with the one or more determined identifiers and forwarding the data packet out the at least one determined access port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A switch for restricted flooding of a data packet, of one of a broadcast, multicast and unknown destination type, in a switched data communications network, the network including a plurality of end systems and switches connected by links, the switch having access ports connected to end systems and network ports connected to other switches, the switch comprising:
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means for assigning at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems; means for mapping the at least one assigned identifier to an access port attached to at least one end system in the respective subset of end systems; means for receiving the data packet from a source end system at a receiving access port; means for determining one or more identifiers associated with the source end system; means for encapsulating the data packet by adding a header with the one or more determined identifiers; means for forwarding the encapsulated data packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network; means for determining if at least one access port on the switch is associated with the one or more determined identifiers; and means for forwarding the data packet out the at least one determined access port other than the receiving access port. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. In a switched communications network including a plurality of end systems, a method of restrictive flooding of a data packet selected from the group consisting of a broadcast packet, a multicast packet, and an unknown destination packet of a protocol not supported by a call processor in an access switch which receives the data packet, the method comprising:
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assigning at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems; mapping the at least one assigned identifier to an access port of the access switch attached to at least one end system in the respective subset of end systems; upon receipt of the data packet at the access switch, encapsulating the data packet with the at least one indentifier assigned to a source end system of the data packet and forwarding the encapsulated packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network, and sending the original data packet to access ports having the at least one identifier; and upon receipt of the encapsulated packet at a receiving switch, de-encapsulating the packet and forwarding the de-encapsulated packet to the access ports having the at least one identifier.
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Specification