The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 22, 1992
Filed:
Mar. 07, 1990
Radia J Perlman, Acton, MA (US);
William Hawe, Pepperell, MA (US);
Anthony Lauck, Wellesley, MA (US);
Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, MA (US);
Abstract
A method and related apparatus for establishing a point-to-point cross-link between two bridges in a bridged communication network. The bridged communication network is first configured in a loop-free arrangement by a spanning tree algorithm that selects which links of every bridge to activate in order to form the spanning tree active configuration. Then at least one cross-link not defined by the spanning tree configuration is established for routing of messages as an alternative to a spanning tree path. A protocol in each bridge ensures that no loops are formed and that only messages to preselected locations are passed over the cross-link. An optional optimization procedure measures message propagation times in both directions between the two bridges and over both the cross-link path and the spanning tree path, to determine whether to modify usage of the cross-link. Selection of the bridges for the formation of the cross-link, and selection of the destination stations for cross-link traffic, are independent of the location of a root bridge in the spanning tree configuration.