Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Foundry Networks, Inc.

Brocade Communication Systems LLC

Marc Lewis Lavine

Bipin Agarwal

Manan Shah

Animesh Chaturvedi

Rajeshekhar Murtinty

Ron Lau

Kwun-Nan Kevin Lin

Kevin Kwun-Nan Lin

Seyung Oh

Rajshekhar Murtinty

A method of configuring a stack includes: connecting stacking ports of a plurality of stackable devices using one or more stacking links; connecting a user console to a first one of the stackable devices; transmitting a stack setup command from the user console to the first stackable device; and establishing a stack in response to the stack setup command. The stack is established by initiating a discovery process with the first stackable device in response to the stack setup command, wherein the first stackable device requests and receives identifying information from the stackable devices over the stacking links during the discovery process. The topology of the stackable devices is displayed with the user console in response to the identifying information. The stackable devices are authenticated during the discovery process such that the stack setup is secure. The first stackable device becomes the active controller of the stack by default.

Secure stacking setup

A stackable device having a plurality of data ports, wherein each of the data ports is capable of operating as a regular data port or a stacking port. A first set of one or more of the data ports is specified as a first flexible stacking port, and a second set of one or more of the data ports is specified as a second flexible stacking port. Each flexible stacking port can be individually configured to operate as an actual stacking port, if required by the configuration of an associated stack. If a flexible stacking port is not configured to operate as an actual stacking port, then the data port(s) included in the flexible stacking port are available to operate as regular data port(s).

Flexible stacking port

Secure stacking setup implementing user interface of stacking device

An approach to generating device-specific configurations is described. In one approach, a method of generating a device-specific configuration for a target device is described. The method involves receiving a configuration parameter, and receiving command syntax information. A state description is generated from the configuration parameter, with reference to a configuration library. Device information is retrieved from the target device, and the device-specific configuration is generated with reference to the command syntax information, the device information, the state description, and a command library.

Generating device-specific configurations

Technology for network security is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of managing network security includes receiving sampled packets. The sampled packets represent packets being sampled from network packet traffic in at least one location in a network. The sampled packets are converted into an appropriate format for analysis to form converted packets. Moreover, the converted packets are sent to a first group including at least one security device for analysis. If an event message is generated by the at least one security device as a result of analysis of the converted packets, the event message is received from the at least one security device. Network security is evaluated based on the event message and security policies and is adjusted based on that evaluation. The method may be implemented with a network manager.

Managing network security

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Marc Lewis Lavine