Method for establishing restricted broadcast groups in a switched network
DCFirst Claim
1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions for restricting 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 program instructions causing the network to:
- a. assign at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems;
b. map 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) determine one or more identifiers associated with the source end system;
ii) encapsulate the data packet by adding a header with the one or more determined identifiers;
iii) forward the encapsulated data packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network; and
iv) determine 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 forward the data packet out the at least one determined access port.
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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.
202 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions for restricting 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 program instructions causing the network to:
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a. assign at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems; b. map 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) determine one or more identifiers associated with the source end system; ii) encapsulate the data packet by adding a header with the one or more determined identifiers; iii) forward the encapsulated data packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network; and iv) determine 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 forward 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 computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions for restricting flooding of a data packet, of one of a broadcast, multicast and unknown destination type, in a switch to be used in a switched data communications network, the network to include end systems and switches connected by links, the switches having access ports connected to end systems and network ports connected to other switches, the program instructions causing the switch to:
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a. assign at least one identifier to a respective subset of end systems; b. map 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 the switch; i) determine one or more identifiers associated with the source end system; ii) encapsulate the data packet by adding a header with the one or more determined identifiers; iii) forward the encapsulated data packet to all or a subset of other switches in the network; and iv) determine if at least one access port other than the receiving access port on the switch is associated with the one or more determined identifiers and forward the data packet out the at least one determined access port. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification