Cisco Technology, Inc.

Steven J Faulkner

Jimmy Philip Ervin

James Scott Alexander

Michael Lewis Takefman

Praveen Bhagwatula

Parveen Bhagwatula

Yie-Fong Dan

Charles Allen Carriker

Russell Eugene Gardo

Sonny N Tran

Thomas E Black, Jr

Mike Takefman

Jimmy Ervin

James Alexander

Methods and apparatus for eliminating loops associated with interconnects between clusters are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for operating a cluster of an interconnect group that includes at least one node and is in communication with a plurality of interconnects includes broadcasting a first frame on the interconnects. The method also includes receiving a second frame, the second frame being received on only a first interconnect, and blocking the second frame from being broadcast on the first interconnect. Finally, the method includes broadcasting the received second frame throughout the cluster such that no node in the cluster receives more than one copy of the second frame.

Method and apparatus for preventing loops in a network by controlling broadcasts

Methods and apparatus for reducing the average delay associated with sending a packet from one environment to another via a store and forward buffer are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for processing transmission units received over a first network connection includes receiving a first transmission unit on the first network connection, storing the first transmission unit in a buffer, and determining when contents of the buffer meet a plurality of criteria. The method also includes sending a backpressure over the first network connection when it is determined that the contents of the buffer meet the plurality of criteria. In one embodiment, determining when the contents of the buffer meet a plurality of criteria includes determining when the contents of the buffer are of an amount that exceeds a threshold and determining when the contents of the buffer include at least one full packet.

Reducing latency jitter in a store-and-forward buffer for mixed-priority traffic

Techniques for load balancing network traffic over virtual point-to-point data links at a data-link layer include determining a particular group of virtual point-to-point data links that reach a particular local area network of one or more network nodes. A particular data-link address for a particular node of the particular local area network is associated with each virtual point-to-point data link of the particular group. When a data packet is received that includes data that indicates the particular data-link address as a destination; one virtual point-to-point data link of the group is determined to balance traffic among the group. The data packet is sent only over the one virtual point-to-point data link. These techniques enable virtual point-to-point data links through two or more intermediate network nodes, such as a pair of provider edge nodes, to be bundled for load balancing purposes.

Method and apparatus for load balancing over virtual network links

A method for preventing loops in a ring topology of a computer network is disclosed. The method includes receiving a packet at a node on a shared packet ring and inserting a header containing an ID identifying the node at which the packet was received on the ring as an originating node. The packet is forwarded onto the ring and the ID is checked when received on a node. The packet is dropped if the ID identifies the node as the originating node.

Method and system for providing a loop-free ring topology

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Cary, NC, United States of America

Steven J Faulkner