Apparatus and methods for routerless layer 3 forwarding in a network
First Claim
1. A method by which a network element, having a plurality of ports, performs layer 3 forwarding within a network comprising one or more routers, the method comprising:
- for each of the one or more routers in the network, identifying at least one of the plurality of ports, via which the router is reachable, as an upstream port with respect to the router, and identifying one or more other ports in the plurality of ports from which the router is not reachable as downstream ports with respect to the router;
learning forwarding information including one or more IP addresses respectively associated with one or more IP stations reachable from the one or more other ports;
receiving a data packet; and
performing layer 3 forwarding upon receiving the packet if the packet has a layer 2 destination address equal to a MAC address for one of the one or more routers and has a layer 3 IP destination address equal to one of the one or more learned IP addresses.
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Abstract
A layer 3 forwarding method for layer 3 forwarding an individual packet from a station I to a station II wherein the packet'"'"'s layer 2 destination includes a router within the network which is reachable from a network element A via which stations I and II are connected to the network, the router storing ARP information, the method including providing network element A with a capability to perform layer 3 forwarding of a packet from station I to station II, wherein the providing step includes learning, on the part of network element A, of forwarding information used by the router to forward packets from station I to station II, by reading the ARP information of the router and performing layer 3 forwarding on the individual packet, at network element A.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method by which a network element, having a plurality of ports, performs layer 3 forwarding within a network comprising one or more routers, the method comprising:
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for each of the one or more routers in the network, identifying at least one of the plurality of ports, via which the router is reachable, as an upstream port with respect to the router, and identifying one or more other ports in the plurality of ports from which the router is not reachable as downstream ports with respect to the router;
learning forwarding information including one or more IP addresses respectively associated with one or more IP stations reachable from the one or more other ports;
receiving a data packet; and
performing layer 3 forwarding upon receiving the packet if the packet has a layer 2 destination address equal to a MAC address for one of the one or more routers and has a layer 3 IP destination address equal to one of the one or more learned IP addresses. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A layer 3 forwarding method for layer 3 forwarding an individual packet from a station I to a station II wherein the packet'"'"'s layer 2 destination comprises a router within the network which is reachable from a network element A via which stations I and II are connected to the network, the router storing ARP information, the method comprising:
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providing network element A with a capability to perform layer 3 forwarding of a packet from station I to station II, wherein said providing step comprises learning, on the part of network element A, of forwarding information used by the router to forward packets from station I to station II, by reading said ARP information of the router; and
performing layer 3 forwarding on said individual packet, at network element A. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method by which a network element, having a plurality of ports, performs layer 3 forwarding, using forwarding information, within a network comprising at least one router, the method comprising:
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learning forwarding information pertaining to stations whose IP addresses have been designated by the user as being eligible to be learned;
upon receiving a packet, determining whether or not the packet requires layer 3 forwarding, without using any information regarding the identity of the router; and
performing layer 3 forwarding if the packet requires layer 3 forwarding and if all necessary forwarding information is available, and performing layer 2 forwarding otherwise. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system by which a network element, having a plurality of ports, performs layer 3 forwarding within a network comprising one or more routers, the system comprising:
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a port identifier operative, for each router in the network, to identify at least one of the plurality of ports, via which the router is reachable, as an upstream port with respect to the router, and to identify one or more other ports in the plurality of ports from which the router is not reachable as downstream ports with respect to the router;
a learning unit operative to learn forwarding information including one or more IP addresses respectively associated with one or more IP stations reachable from the one or more other ports; and
a layer 3 forwarding unit operative, upon receiving a packet having a layer 2 destination address equal to a MAC address for one of the one or more routers and having a layer 3 IP destination address equal to one of the one or more learned IP addresses, to perform layer 3 forwarding.
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28. A layer 3 forwarding system for layer 3 forwarding an individual packet from a station I to a station II wherein the packet'"'"'s layer 2 destination comprises a router within the network which is reachable from a network element A via which stations I and II are connected to the network, the router storing ARP information, the system comprising:
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a learning unit operative to provide network element A with a capability to perform layer 3 forwarding of a packet from station I to station II, wherein said providing step comprises learning, on the part of network element A, of forwarding information used by the router to forward packets from station I to station II, by reading said ARP information of the router; and
at network element A, a layer 3 forwarding unit for layer 3 forwarding of said individual packet.
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29. A system by which a network element, having a plurality of ports, performs layer 3 forwarding, using forwarding information, within a network comprising at least one router, the system comprising:
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means for learning forwarding information pertaining to stations whose IP addresses have been designated by the user as being eligible to be learned;
means for determining, upon receiving a packet, whether or not the packet requires layer 3 forwarding, without using any information regarding the identity of the router; and
means for performing layer 3 forwarding if the packet requires layer 3 forwarding and if all necessary forwarding information is available, and for performing layer 2 forwarding otherwise.
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Specification