Other

Hirschmann Automation and Control Gmbh

Henri Mueller

Dirk Mohl

Oliver Kleineberg

At least two different redundancy protocols are operated in parallel by network devices in an Ethernet network. Control is determined and assigned to one of two protocols to have total control over which ports in the network devices are active and which are blocked for transmission of user data and network data network traffic while allowing all control and monitor traffic to traverse the ring of network devices. Control and monitoring packets are transmitted by RSTP packets through all of the network devices in the ring while restricting the data ports of the network devices to transmit user data and data network traffic to the network devices connected in the line of the network devices. Parameters received in RSTP packets are collected from all of the network devices in the ring in order to determine which network device of the network devices is a virtual root bridge.

Parallel operation of RSTP and MRP and segmentation coupling

The invention relates to a method for running a network, in particular an Ethernet network with redundancy properties, wherein the network has a ring network topology, in which network devices are connected to each other with the data ports thereof via data lines and exchange control data and user data by means of protocols via the data lines, wherein the protocols prevent the transmission of network traffic via certain data ports of individual network devices with the exception of network traffic for controlling and/or monitoring the media redundancy, in order to avoid an endless circulation of network traffic in physical loops of the network, wherein it is provided according to the invention that at least two different protocols are executed parallel to each other in the network on the network devices, wherein the parallel operation of the at least two redundancy protocols is enabled by the fact that the control over the data ports to be blocked is assigned to an individual redundancy, or the parameters for the at least two redundancy protocols are chosen and/or the work processes of the redundancy protocols are arranged that one redundancy protocol does not block connections which the other redundancy protocol regards as active.

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Reutlingen, Germany

Henri Mueller