VLAN protocol
First Claim
1. A switch controller comprising:
- a plurality of ports including at least one bus port associated with ports connected to other switch controllers in a network;
a hash table for storing MAC addresses and VLAN ids of ports within the network; and
a hash table control unit for hashing a MAC address and a VLAN id of a packet to identify a first location in the hash table,wherein for each one of the VLAN ids stored in the hash table, one of the MAC addresses identifies one of the other switch controllers having ports belonging to the one of the VLAN ids without identifying each one of the ports of the one of the other switch controllers that belongs to the one of the VLAN ids.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A switch controller includes a plurality of ports, a hash table, and a hash table control unit. The plurality of ports includes at least one bus port associated with ports connected to other switch controllers in a network. The hash table stores MAC addresses and VLAN ids of ports within the network. The hash table control unit hashes a MAC address and a VLAN id of a packet to identify a first location in the hash table. For each one of the VLAN ids stored in the hash table, one of the MAC addresses identifies one of the other switch controllers having ports belonging to the one of the VLAN ids without identifying each one of the ports of the one of the other switch controllers that belongs to the one of the VLAN ids.
11 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A switch controller comprising:
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a plurality of ports including at least one bus port associated with ports connected to other switch controllers in a network; a hash table for storing MAC addresses and VLAN ids of ports within the network; and a hash table control unit for hashing a MAC address and a VLAN id of a packet to identify a first location in the hash table, wherein for each one of the VLAN ids stored in the hash table, one of the MAC addresses identifies one of the other switch controllers having ports belonging to the one of the VLAN ids without identifying each one of the ports of the one of the other switch controllers that belongs to the one of the VLAN ids. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A switch controller comprising:
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a plurality of ports including at least one bus port associated with ports connected to other switch controllers in a network; a hash table for storing MAC addresses and VLAN ids of ports within the network; and a hash table control unit for hashing a MAC address and a VLAN id of a packet to identify a first location in the hash table, wherein the hash table control unit generates a second location in the hash table by adding a fixed offset to the first location when the MAC address and the VLAN id of the packet do not match one of the MAC addresses and one of the VLAN ids stored at the first location in the hash table, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A method for operating a switch controller comprising:
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providing a plurality of ports including at least one bus port associated with ports connected to other switch controllers in a network; storing MAC addresses and VLAN ids of ports within the network in a hash table; hashing a MAC address and a VLAN id of a packet to identify a first location in the hash table; and storing, for each one of the VLAN ids stored in the hash table, one of the MAC addresses that identifies one of the other switch controllers having ports belonging to the one of the VLAN ids without identifying each one of the ports of the one of the other switch controllers that belongs to the one of the VLAN ids. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for operating a switch controller comprising:
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providing a plurality of ports including at least one bus port associated with ports connected to other switch controllers in a network; storing MAC addresses and VLAN ids of ports within the network in a hash table; hashing a MAC address and a VLAN id of a packet to identify a first location in the hash table; and generating a second location in the hash table by adding a fixed offset to the first location when the MAC address and the VLAN id of the packet do not match one of the MAC addresses and one of the VLAN ids stored at the first location in the hash table, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A local virtual local area network (VLAN) table for a network switch, the local VLAN table comprising:
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a port membership for a VLAN identifier, wherein the port membership identifies ports of the network switch that are members of a VLAN identified by the VLAN identifier; and a switch membership that identifies network switches that are members of the VLAN identified by the VLAN identifier.
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18. A method for broadcasting a packet, the method comprising:
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storing in a local virtual local area network (VLAN) table of a network switch, a port membership for a first VLAN identifier, wherein the port membership identifies ports of the network switch that are members of a VLAN identified by the first VLAN identifier, and a switch membership that identifies network switches that are members of the VLAN identified by the first VLAN identifier; and determining which of the ports and the network switches in the local VLAN table correspond to a second VLAN identifier stored in the packet. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification