Avaya Inc.

Extreme Networks, Inc.

Other

Nortel Networks Corporation

Rockstar Consortium US LP

Rockstar Bidco, LP

Rpx Clearinghouse LLC

Srikanth Keesara

Deborah Ellen Fitzgerald

Roger Lapuh

Gautam Khera

Dinesh Mohan

Paul Unbehagen

Sakthivadivu Saravanaraj

Robert L Lee

Rama Suryanarayana Appalla

Parthiv Shrimankar

Richard Thomas Strong

Liming Sun

Xiaolan Zhou

Venkat Dabbara

David Elliott Johnson, Jr

Christopher Monti

Julie Alma Carleton

Vedavinayagam Ganesan

Ludovico Stevens

Rama Apalla

David E Frattura

Constantin Barcaru

Carl Keene

Lava K Lavu

Shahaji Bhosle

Keith Krajewski

Sakthivadivu Saraanaraj

Bjorn Haas

Rama Suryanarayana Appala

Brian Thomas Bull

Robert Lee

Systems, methods, and apparatuses are disclosed herein for automatically assigning nicknames in a SPBM network. In some aspects, a first switch of a plurality of switches in the SPBM network is detected as being designated as responsible for assigning nicknames to the plurality of switches. Control circuitry responsively instantiates, at the nick name server, a DHCP service. The control circuitry detects, at the nickname server, a respective other switch of the plurality of switches in the SPBM network, and responsively assigns, using the DHCP service, a respective IP address for the respective other switch. A host portion of the respective IP address is assigned as the nickname for the respective other switch.

Use of DHCP to automatically assign nicknames in a SPBM network

Systems, methods, and apparatuses are disclosed herein for providing an Individual Service Instance identifier ('I-SID') translation service for accessing services on different networks. Packets designated for specific services via an I-SID Tag may be received at an edge network device and a lookup may be performed to locate the service on another network via the I-SID corresponding to the service, the I-SID being mapped at another network. The I-SID may be updated with the newly-located I-SID in order for the packet to reach an appropriate service on the other network.

Systems and methods for providing I-SID translation in SPB networks

A method and apparatus for automated mirroring is presented. A network device running as a Fabric Attach (FA) server configured to mirror traffic to a Remote Switch Port Analyzer (RSPAN) Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), issues an FA Type Length Value (TLV) on its uplink to the FA server. The TLV includes a request to associate said RSPAN VLAN with a Service Identifier (I-SID) used to carry mirror traffic in a network. The network device sends the mirrored traffic on the RSPAN VLAN on its uplink to the FA server. The network device signals the I-SID into the network, and detects receive interest in the I-SID. The network device delivers the mirrored traffic to devices that expressed a receive interest in the mirrored traffic.

Automated mirroring and remote switch port analyzer (RSPAN) functions using fabric attach (FA) signaling

Implementing auto attach for a shortest path bridging (SPB) network comprises determining, on an access point, that an auto attach device communicating in a SPB network is enabled for auto attach, and an advertisement is transmitted to a mobile station. The access point acts a proxy between the mobile station and the auto-attach device by communicably coupling the auto attach device and the mobile station via the access point. A virtual local area network (VLAN) identification and service instance identifier (I-SID) is received from the mobile station, when is then transmitted to the auto-attach device. A VLAN (independent of any static VLAN associated with the WLAN) is created off of the VLAN identification and an indication that the I-SID and the VLAN have been accepted. Data communications are then provided between the mobile station and the auto attach device via the VLAN and the access point.

Auto-attach signaling used as wireless local area network (WLAN) selection criterion

In a Shortest Path Bridge (SPB) network comprising a plurality of backbone edge bridges (BEBs), a gateway controller of the SPB network, establishes a link using Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP) with an external network domain; discovers via the link a source of a multicast stream originating outside of the SPB network; and determines a subset of the plurality of BEBs that are able to receive the multicast stream from the source. Once that occurs, the gateway controller selects a one of the subset of the plurality of BEBs to be a sole gateway BEB for the multicast stream; and then transmits to each of the subset of the plurality of BEBs an indication of the sole gateway BEB selected for the multicast stream.

Ingress gateway selection for a shortest path bridging network to support inter domain multicast routing

A transport network employs dual homing to an access network to provide connectivity from multiple network switches. Dual homing is a mechanism by which an access network employs pair of switches in the transport network as if it were connecting to a single device. Conventional arrangements for defining multiple paths from a transport network to an access network suffer from the shortcomings of potential routing loops, increased hops to the access network, and inability or inconsistency with forwarding to different types of access networks, and may involve redirecting traffic absent faults in the access network. The dual homed network switches identify the type of access network and perform switching logic corresponding to the access network type to provide comprehensive dual-homed support to the access network independently of the type of transport employed in the access network, and employ redirection only if there is a fault in the access network.

Access network dual path connectivity

A method for implementing auto attach for a shortest path bridging (SPB) network comprises determining, on an access point, that an auto attach device communicating in a SPB network is enabled for auto attach, and an advertisement is transmitted to a mobile station. The access point acts a proxy between the mobile station and the auto-attach device by communicably coupling the auto attach device and the mobile station via the access point. A virtual local area network (VLAN) identification and service instance identifier (I-SID) is received from the mobile station, when is then transmitted to the auto-attach device. A VLAN (independent of any static VLAN associated with the WLAN) is created off of the VLAN identification and an indication that the I-SID and the VLAN have been accepted. Data communications are then provided between the mobile station and the auto attach device via the VLAN and the access point.

Systems and methods are presented herewith for automatically assigning a Multicast Backbone Media Access Control ('BMAC') address to a switch (or a similar network device) newly-added to a network. Media Access Control ('MAC') addresses (unicast addresses) that are assigned by default to the switch may be used in a process to generate a multicast BMAC address and assign the multicast BMAC address to the switch, thereby, automatically enabling communications with other network devices over the SPB network. The process involves modifying a bit of a selected unicast address to transform the address into a multicast address. The system may use the modified MAC address as the multicast BMAC address.

Systems and methods for bootstrapping multicast state without using a nick-name

Automated mirroring and remote switch port analyzer (RSPAN)/encapsulated remote switch port analyzer (ERSPAN) functions using fabric attach (FA) signaling

Methods, systems and computer readable media for zero touch attachment of devices, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, to an SPB network are described.

Zero touch attachment of devices to a SPB network

A method and apparatus for automated mirroring is presented. In a particular embodiment of a method for automated mirroring, a Network Device running as a Fabric Attach (FA) Server receives an FA Type Length Value (TLV) from an Access Device running as a FA proxy or client. The Access Device is configured to mirror traffic to a Remote Switch Port Analyzer (RSPAN) Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN). The TLV includes a request to associate the RSPAN VLAN with a Service Identifier (I-SID) used to carry mirror traffic in a network. The method includes wherein the FA server receives the mirrored traffic on the RSPAN VLAN. The FA Server signals the I-SID into the network, and detects receive interest in the I-SID. The FA Server delivers the mirrored traffic to devices that expressed a receive interest in the mirrored traffic.

Automated mirroring and remote switch port analyzer (RSPAN)/ encapsulated remote switch port analyzer (ERSPAN) functions using fabric attach (FA) signaling

A computer-implemented method, apparatus and software for debugging auto-attach entities is presented. A Continuity Fault Management (CFM) request for a service is received over a network at an Auto-Attach (AA) server. The AA server responds with a first response regarding the AA server on the service. The AA server also responds to the CFM request with a second response regarding any AA clients and any AA proxies on the service.

Debugging auto-attach entities (client and proxy) using connectivity fault management (CFM) and shortest path bridging MAC (SPBM) cloud

A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing multi-homing techniques for SPB networks is presented. A set of UNI nodes that receive multicast packets are determined based on Backbone Media Access Control-Destination Address (BMAC-DA)/I-Tag Service Identifier (I-SID) of received multicast packets for multicast packets within a transport network. A separate Egress Port Mask is determined for each Backbone-Virtual Local Area Network (B-VLAN) of the transport network, wherein the Egress Port Mask is determined such that only one UNI node of the set of UNI nodes forwards said multicast packets. A set of UNI copies of said multicast packets are filtered out by applying the Egress Port Mask, wherein copies that are not in the Egress Port Mask are dropped. Copies of multicast packets that are not dropped are sent out.

General user network interface (UNI) multi-homing techniques for shortest path bridging (SPB) networks

A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) and gateway Media Access Controller (MAC) distribution is presented. At least one subnet associated with a Layer 2 Virtual Switching Network (L2VSN) is provided on a network device. A message is propagated to a distributed Datapath. Network devices install the message as a routable MAC address on the L2VSN for the Layer 3 Virtual Switching Network/Virtual Routing and Forwarding (L3VSN/VRF) associated with the message. Edge devices route packets on the L2VSN addressed to the gateway MAC address.

Growing community of inventors

Tewksbury, MA, United States of America

Srikanth Keesara