Method and system of aggregate multiple VLANs in a metropolitan area network
First Claim
1. An aggregated virtual local area network (VLAN) architecture system comprising:
- a metropolitan area network MAN having at least one of a router and a switch;
an edge switch connecting the MAN to a super-VLAN, the super-VLAN comprising at least one of a plurality of sub-VLANs, and wherein the edge switch applies a modified bridge forwarding rule to exchange a VLAN ID associated with the sub-VLAN for a VLAN ID associated with the super-VLAN before forwarding a data packet from the sub-VLAN over the MAN using the at least one of a router and a switch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system is provided in which data packets from multiple customer VLANs are forwarded over a MAN using VLAN aggregation. A layer-2 switch located at the edge of the MAN connects the customer VLANs to the MAN. The edge switch aggregates multiple customer VLANs (the “sub-VLANs”) into one provider VLAN (the “super-VLAN”). When a packet is forwarded from the sub-VLAN to the super-VLAN and vice versa, the edge switch uses modified bridge forwarding rules to exchange the customer-configured VLAN-IDs with the provider-configured VLAN-IDs before transporting the packet over the MAN. The edge switch further uses modified bridge media access control (MAC) address learning rules to isolate one customer'"'"'s traffic from another'"'"'s (i.e. isolate one sub-VLAN'"'"'s traffic from another sub-VLAN'"'"'s traffic).
246 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An aggregated virtual local area network (VLAN) architecture system comprising:
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a metropolitan area network MAN having at least one of a router and a switch;
an edge switch connecting the MAN to a super-VLAN, the super-VLAN comprising at least one of a plurality of sub-VLANs, and wherein the edge switch applies a modified bridge forwarding rule to exchange a VLAN ID associated with the sub-VLAN for a VLAN ID associated with the super-VLAN before forwarding a data packet from the sub-VLAN over the MAN using the at least one of a router and a switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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12. A method of aggregating multiple VLANs in a metropolitan area network comprising:
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classifying a data packet originating from a sub-VLAN in accordance with an aggregated VLAN configuration, the aggregated VLAN configuration associating the sub-VLAN with a sub-VLAN ID and a super-VLAN ID;
exchanging the sub-VLAN ID for the super-VLAN ID before forwarding the data packet to a MAN;
classifying a data packet originating from a super-VLAN in accordance with the aggregated VLAN configuration, the aggregated VLAN configuration further associating the super-VLAN with a super-VLAN ID and at least one of a plurality of sub-VLAN IDs;
exchanging the super-VLAN ID for the at least one sub-VLAN ID before forwarding the data packet to a customer associated with the at least one sub-VLAN ID.
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18. An article of manufacture comprising a machine-accessible medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions for aggregating multiple VLANs in a metropolitan area network, comprising:
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classifying a data packet originating from a sub-VLAN in accordance with an aggregated VLAN configuration, the aggregated VLAN configuration associating the sub-VLAN with a sub-VLAN ID and a super-VLAN ID;
classifying a data packet originating from a super-VLAN in accordance with the aggregated VLAN configuration, the aggregated VLAN configuration further associating the super-VLAN with a super-VLAN ID and at least one of a plurality of sub-VLAN IDs;
exchanging the sub-VLAN ID for the super-VLAN ID before forwarding the data packet to a MAN and exchanging the super-VLAN ID for the at least one sub-VLAN ID before forwarding the data packet to a customer associated with the at least one sub-VLAN ID.
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19. A method for controlling processing of data packets in a switch connected to a metropolitan area network (MAN), comprising:
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propagating a data packet originating from one of a plurality of sub-VLANs, the plurality of sub-VLANs belonging to a super-VLAN;
exchanging a VLAN ID identifying the originating sub-VLAN with a super-VLAN ID identifying the super-VLAN to which the originating sub-VLAN belongs;
controlling the processing of the data packet to the MAN in accordance with the exchanged super-VLAN ID and a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address specified in the data packet.
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20. An edge switch for controlling processing of data packets in a metropolitan area network MAN, comprising:
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a port for receiving a data packet on an edge switch originating from one of a plurality of VLANs, the plurality of VLANs associated with a super-VLAN;
a means for assigning a VLAN ID to the data packet that identifies the originating VLAN;
a verifier means for verifying that the assigned VLAN ID matches a value in a memory of the edge switch;
a controller for controlling the processing of the verified data packet to exchange the verified VLAN ID for a super-VLAN ID that identifies the associated super-VLAN; and
a means for propagating the processed data packet to the MAN. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification