Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

Apresia Systems, Ltd.

Shigeru Tsubota

Makoto Yasuda

Muneyuki Ikarashi

A relay apparatus includes line cards, switch fabric cards, and a management card. The management card and the switch fabric cards are connected through a first communication network, and the switch fabric cards and the line cards are connected through a second communication network. The switch fabric card includes an error control unit. The error control unit stops switching of data transmission using a path of the second communication network by controlling the switch fabric card as an abnormal state based on an error signal that is output when a fault of the first communication network or an internal fault of the switch fabric card is detected as an error.

Relay apparatus

When transmitting an R-APS (NR) frame, a control frame processing unit sets a priority setting value arbitrarily set by a user as a value of a node ID region. A ring control unit compares priority based on a value of the node ID region of the R-APS (NR) frame transmitted from its own device and a value of the node ID region of the R-APS (NR) frame transmitted from a different device, and the ring control unit determines whether a ring port is maintained in a block state or changed from the block state to an open state based on a result of the comparison.

Relay system and switching device

A MCLAG table retains a first port in association with a first identifier. A port control unit controls a first port group to a transmission/reception permitted state when the first port group is set to active, and controls the first port group to a transmission/reception prohibited state when the first port group is set to standby. A relay processing unit relays a frame containing the first identifier as a destination port to the first port group when the first port group is controlled to the transmission/reception permitted state and relays the same to a bridge port when the first port group is controlled to the transmission/reception prohibited state. When the first port group is controlled to the transmission/reception prohibited state, a transmission stop instructing unit instructs a peer device to stop frame transmission to the first port group.

A first redundancy device and a second redundancy device connected to the first redundancy device are provided. A third switching device has a first link with a first port group of the first switching device and has no link with the second switching device. A fourth switching device has a second link with a first port group of the second switching device and has no link with the first switching device. Here, a communication between the first redundancy device and the second redundancy device is performed through the first link when the first link has no fault, and the communication is performed through the second link when the first link has a fault and the second link has no fault.

Each of MCLAG devices has a MCLAG table, a port control unit, and a relay processing unit. The MCLAG table retains one or a plurality of first ports in association with a first identifier. The port control unit controls a first port group to transmission/reception permitted state when the first port group is set to active, and controls the first port group to a transmission prohibited state when the first port group is set to standby. The relay processing unit relays a frame containing the first identifier as a destination port to the first port group when the first port group is controlled to the transmission/reception permitted state, and relays the same to a bridge port when the first port group is controlled to the transmission prohibited state.

A first fault monitoring unit monitors presence/absence of fault on a communication path between bridge ports, and a second fault monitoring unit monitors presence/absence of fault on a communication path via a ring network between upper link ports. A third fault monitoring unit monitors presence/absence of fault at a MCLAG port. When a monitoring result by the third fault monitoring unit changes from absence of fault to presence of fault, a MCLAG control unit transmits a fault notification frame. At this time, when a monitoring result by the first fault monitoring unit is absence of fault, the MCLAG control unit transmits the fault notification frame from the bridge port, and when the monitoring result by the first fault monitoring unit is presence of fault and a monitoring result by the second fault monitoring unit is absence of fault, it transmits the fault notification frame from the upper link port.

A first switch device operating in a master mode, a second switch device operating in a backup mode, and third switch devices operating in a member mode in an initial state are provided. The first switch device operating in the master mode transmits a first control signal at every predetermined period to the second switch device operating in the backup mode. The second switch device operating in the backup mode makes a transition to the master mode when it does not receive for a predetermined period the first control signal from the first switch device operating in the master mode, and transmits an initializing signal to the third switch devices operating in the member mode. When having received the initializing signal, each of the third switch devices operating in the member mode constructs a management communication channel with the second switch device operating in the master mode.

Growing community of inventors

Tsuchiura, Japan

Shigeru Tsubota