System for configuring switches in a network

• US 7,680,096 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: QNX Software Systems Company (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Craig, Robert, Jenkins, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton; Dang T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhao; Wei
• Application Number:
  US11/262,384
• Publication Number:
  US 20070097881A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,600 Days
• Field of Search: 370/254, 370/230, 370/235, 370/216, 370/244, 370/351, 711/162
• US Class Current: 370/351
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/15 Interconnection of switching modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/35 Switches specially adapted for specific applications

Abstract

A network is set forth that comprises a plurality of multiple port switches, a plurality of endpoint devices connected to the ports of the plurality of switches, and an enumerating endpoint device that is connected to at least one of the multiple port switches. The enumerating endpoint device configures the routing through the multiple port switches based on whether the multiple port switch is on path with respect to a newly discovered processing element or off path with respect to the newly discovered processing element. Each off path switch may be configured so that communication packets destined for the new processing element are routed through the port of the off path switch that the off path switch uses for communications with the enumerating endpoint device. Each on path switch may be configured so that communication packets destined for the newly discovered processing element are routed through the port of the on path switch at which the enumerating endpoint device discovered the new processing element. In one example, the network is implemented as a RapidIO network.

Claims

1. A network comprising:

a plurality of multiple port switches;

a plurality of endpoint devices connected to ports of the multiple port switches;

an enumerating endpoint device connected to at least one of the multiple port switches, where the enumerating endpoint device configures internal routing of communication packets between the ports of each multiple port switch based on whether the multiple port switch is on path with respect to an endpoint device or off path with respect to the endpoint device, where the enumerating endpoint device treats a multiple port switch as an on path multiple port switch with respect to the endpoint device if the multiple port switch is in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the endpoint device when the endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device, and where the enumerating endpoint device treats the multiple port switch as an off path multiple port switch with respect to the endpoint device if the multiple port switch is not in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the endpoint device when the endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device; and

where each off path switch is configured by the enumerating endpoint device so that communications for the endpoint device are routed through the port of the off path switch that the off path switch uses for communications with the enumerating endpoint device, and where each on path switch is configured by the enumerating endpoint device so that communications for the endpoint device are routed through the port of the on path switch at which the enumerating endpoint device detected the endpoint device.

2. A network comprising:

an enumerating endpoint device

a plurality of switches, each switch having a plurality of I/O ports and at least one routing table, where the enumerating endpoint device is connected to at least one of the plurality of switches;

a plurality of endpoint devices connected to the plurality of switches;

where the enumerating endpoint device updates the routing tables of each of the switches upon detection of an endpoint device based on whether the switch is on path with respect to the detected endpoint device or off path with respect to the detected endpoint device, where a switch is treated by the enumerating endpoint device as an on path switch with respect to the endpoint device if the switch is in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the endpoint device when the endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device, and where a switch is treated by the enumerating endpoint device as an off path switch with respect to the endpoint device if the switch is not in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the endpoint device when the endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device; and

where the routing table of each off path switch is configured by the enumerating endpoint device so that communications for the detected endpoint device are routed through the port of the off path switch that the off path switch uses for communications with the enumerating endpoint device, and where the routing table of each on path switch is configured by the enumerating endpoint device so that communications for the detected endpoint device are routed through the port of the on path switch at which the enumerating endpoint device detected the detected endpoint device.

3. The network of claim 2 where the detection of the endpoint device occurs during an initial enumeration process executed by the enumerating endpoint device.

4. The network of claim 2 where the detection of the endpoint device occurs during a polling process in which the enumerating endpoint device searches the network to discover newly added endpoint devices.

5. The network of claim 3 where the detection of the endpoint device occurs during a polling process in which the enumerating endpoint device searches the network to discover newly added endpoint devices that have been added after completion of the initial enumeration process, the polling process occurring on a repeating basis.

6. The network of claim 2 where the enumerating endpoint device assigns unique device identification values to each of the endpoint devices, and where the unique device identification values are used as indices in the routing tables.

7. A network comprising:

a plurality of endpoint devices;

a plurality of switches, each switch having a plurality of I/O ports, each I/O port having at least one routing table;

an enumerating endpoint device connected to a port on at least one of the plurality of switches, where the enumerating endpoint device responds to detection of an endpoint device by updating the routing tables of each of the plurality of switches, and where the routing table of an on path switch is updated so that communications with the detected endpoint device are routed to the port of the on path switch at which the detected endpoint device was discovered by the enumerating endpoint device, and where the routing table of an off path switch is updated so that communications with the detected endpoint device are routed through the port of the off path switch that the off path switch uses to communicate with the enumerating endpoint device; and

where a switch is treated by the enumerating endpoint device as an on path switch with respect to the detected endpoint device if the switch is in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the detected endpoint device when an effective endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device, and where a switch is treated by the enumerating endpoint device as an off path switch with respect to the detected endpoint device if the switch is not in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the endpoint device when the endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device.

8. The network of claim 7 where the detection of the endpoint device occurs during an initial enumeration process executed by the enumerating endpoint device.

9. The network of claim 7 where the detection of the endpoint device occurs during a polling process in which the enumerating endpoint device searches the network to discover newly added endpoint devices.

10. The network of claim 8 where the detection of the endpoint device occurs during a polling process in which the enumerating endpoint device searches the network to discover newly added endpoint devices that have been added after completion of the initial memorization process, the polling process occurring on a repeating basis.

11. The network of claim 7 where the enumerating endpoint device assigns unique device identification values to each of the endpoint devices, and where the unique device identification values are used as indices in the routing tables.

12. In a network having an enumerating endpoint device and an endpoint device that is detected by the enumerating endpoint device, a switching structure comprising:

a plurality of multiple port switches that are on path with the detected endpoint device, each of the on path switches configured by the enumerating endpoint device for routing communications for the detected endpoint device to the port of the on path switch at which the detected endpoint device was discovered by the enumerating endpoint device; and

a plurality of multiple port switches that are off path to the detected endpoint device, where the off path switches are configured by the enumerating endpoint device to route network communications to an on path switch to the port of the off path switch that the off path switch uses to communicate with the enumerating endpoint device; and

where a multiple port switch is treated by the enumerating endpoint device as an on path multiple port switch with respect to the detected endpoint device if the multiple port switch is in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the detected endpoint device when the detected endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device, and where a multiple port switch is treated by the enumerating endpoint device as an off path multiple port switch with respect to the detected endpoint device if the multiple port switch is not in a communication path between the enumerating endpoint device and the detected endpoint device when the endpoint device is initially detected by the enumerating endpoint device.