Alcatel Lucent

Alcatel

Vincent Magret

Ignatius D Santoso

Laurence Rose

Timothy Hicks

Roberto Henrique Jacob Da Silva

Vinod Kumar Choyi

Chiang Yeh

Anand Vinayagam

Behcet Sarikaya

Prashant R Rao

Subash Bohra

Steve Valentine

Kevin R Bailey

A stack switch for performing pass-through forwarding operations, assigning stack switch identifiers to a plurality of stack switches, temporarily disabling supervision messages exchanged by stack switches, and electing a primary master stack switch is disclosed. In the pass-through mode, the stack switch automatically forwards packets between stack ports independent of their destination address to maintain connectivity between adjacent stack switches while conventional bridging and routing operations are disabled. The sequential identifiers are also preferably assigned in accordance with the sequential position of the various stack switches to better reflect the topology of those switches. The switch is also preferably adapted to temporarily disable the transmission of supervision messages between stack switches to prevent re-assignment of network management functions when switch resources are low. The switch may execute a stack switch identifier numbering scheme based on the time the switch became operational.

Stack manager protocol with automatic set up mechanism

System and method for implementing a port mapping technique in a switch of a communications network, wherein the switch includes a plurality of ports including user ports and network ports, are described. In one embodiment, the method comprises identifying a first portion of the ports as user ports; identifying a second portion of the ports as network ports; assigning a plurality of the user ports to a first session; and preventing user ports assigned to the first session from interacting with one another.

System and method for port mapping in a communications network switch

A switch discovers active neighboring peer devices of a switch. Such discovery includes facilitating communication of Link Aggregation Control Protocol Data Units (LACPDUs) for identifying a unique peer identifier assigned to each one of the neighboring peer devices. In response to discovering the active neighboring peer devices, the switch automatically assigning a link aggregation key to each one of a plurality of physical links over which the switch and one of the active neighboring peer devices communicate respective ones of the LACPDUs. Thereafter, the switch facilitates logically aggregation all of the physical links dependent upon the link aggregation key.

Facilitating self configuring link aggregation using link aggregation control protocol

Embodiments of the invention provide a method for building a classification tree based on a plurality of rules. Each rule includes multiple fields having different priority levels. The classification tree is built to provide for single pass classification of a received packet according to the multiple rules. The classification tree is built level-by-level, where each level represents one of the priority levels. Building a single level of the classification tree includes: creating, for each of the logical decision paths received from a next higher priority level, a respective sub-tree. The sub-tree includes only nodes and related logical decision paths that are necessary to satisfy rules associated with a respective next higher priority level node. Building of the single level further includes: creating, for each non-lowest priority level, logical decision paths from nodes within the current priority level to a next lower priority level.

Method and system for classifying data packets

A protocol for discovering a silent device, such as a printer, attached to a mobile port of a switching node. A command is transmitted to the switching node for associating an IP address for the silent device to a particular virtual local area network (VLAN). Entry of the command causes the switching node to start searching for the silent device on the mobile ports. As part of the searching process, an ARP request with the IP address provided in the command is sent to each mobile port of the switching node. When the silent device responds with its MAC address in an ARP reply message, the MAC address is learned in a layer 2 table used for making forwarding decisions of data units received by the switching node. Furthermore, the port where the silent device was discovered, that is, the port receiving the ARP reply message, is associated with the VLAN of the silent device.

Printer discovery protocol system and method

A stackable Ethernet switch system (SESS) includes a number of stack switch elements in which loops are prevented. In one embodiment, logic is provided for monitoring control management traffic on a stacking port of a stack switch element of the SESS. Also included is logic, operable responsive to determining that there is a loss of control management traffic on a stacking port of a particular switch element of the SESS, for disabling user traffic data on that stacking port while keeping the control management traffic path open. The user data traffic on that stacking port of the particular switch element may be enabled upon detecting that the control management traffic on that stacking port has resumed.

Loop prevention system and method in a stackable ethernet switch system

The present invention features embodiments of alleviating the impact to a system of stack switches, as well as to neighboring nodes communicating with such a system, when a primary master switch to secondary master switch failover occurs. The features of the present invention, generally enables a system of stack switches to retain, for a fixed or indefinite period of time, its stack address even when multiple primary master to secondary master failovers occur. This way recalculation of certain protocols&#x2014;e.g., spanning trees and link aggregations&#x2014;and updating of certain tables&#x2014;e.g., address resolution protocol (ARP) and routing tables&#x2014;are minimized.

Retention of a stack address during primary master failover

A micro-mobility network routing system and method implementing a protocol that extends the macro mobility support of Mobile IP to support micro mobility is disclosed which permits a more efficient and easily implemented Internet routing protocol for network devices to be affected. The macro mobility feature herein refers to the notion in which the mobile node gains access to the Internet, while retaining the same IP address. This concept is used only once when the mobile node enters the coverage area of a foreign domain (eventually its home domain). The concept of micro mobility within this context eases routing packets to the mobile node while its moves within the foreign network. The present invention implements these new features via the use of message compositions and protocol extensions that extend the prior art Mobile IP protocols.

Micro-mobility network routing system and method

Under Simple Multicast Extension for Mobile IP, when a mobile node arrives at a foreign wireless domain, it listens for an agent advertisement sent by a foreign agent. The foreign agent attaches a network access identifier (NAI) extension to the agent advertisement. The mobile node uses the NAI extension to decide which action to take. If the mobile node determines that it is receiving an agent advertisement message from the same foreign agent it previously was in communication with, no action is required. If the mobile node discovers that it has entered a new foreign domain, it sends a registration request to the foreign agent. If the mobile node identifies that it is still in the same domain but has moved from a previous foreign agent to a new one, it sends a multicast subscription request to the new foreign agent. If a home agent supports the Simple Multicast Extension for Mobile IP, it allocates a source specific multicast address and inserts the address in a source specific multicast address extension after the registration reply. In addition, tunneling is used to route datagrams from correspondent nodes to the mobile node while the mobile node is in a foreign domain. The destination address of the tunnel is set to the source specific multicast previously allocated. Finally, update messages are used to inform correspondent nodes of a mobile nodes' new location.

Simple multicast extension for mobile IP SMM

A communication network providing mobile IP services to mobile nodes sharing the same private IP address. A mobile node visits a foreign network from its home network and transmits a registration request including its private IP address to a foreign agent on the foreign network. If the foreign agent determines that another mobile node with a valid registration shares the same private IP address, the foreign agent requests the mobile node to use a temporary address. The temporary address is sent along with the registration request to the registering mobile node's home agent. When the home agent receives a packet addressed to its mobile node, it creates two tunnels. An outer tunnel is created using a care-of address associated with the foreign agent. An inner tunnel is created using the temporary address assigned to mobile node. The packet is then forwarded via the two tunnels. Upon receipt of the tunneled packet by the foreign agent, it de-tunnels the outer tunnel to uncover the inner tunnel, and forwards the inner tunnel to the mobile node. The mobile node de-tunnels the inner tunnel to recover the original packet.

Temporary unique private address

The invention is a method and apparatus for registering a mobile node in both home and in foreign domains. A base station informs a base station router of the presence of a mobile entering the base station's coverage area by sending a mobile node advertisement message to a base station router. In addition, the mobile node sends a mobile IP registration request to the base station router. The base station router appends a base station router extension message to the mobile IP registration request (which contains an IP address of the base station router) and forwards the mobile IP registration request to a main access router. The main access router appends a multicast address extension to the mobile IP registration reply. The multicast address extension contains the multicast address allocated for the mobile node.

Growing community of inventors

Oak Park, CA, United States of America

Vincent Magret