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:
Oct. 28, 2003
Filed:
May. 20, 2000
Roland T. Provencher, Hudson, NH (US);
Brian Branscomb, Hopkinton, MA (US);
Nicholas A. Langrind, Carlisle, MA (US);
Peter B. Everdell, Littleton, MA (US);
Equipe Communications Corporation, Acton, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a network device, such as a network switch or a router, having a high degree of modularity and reliability. The network device includes a data plane and a control plane. The data plane relays datagrams between a pair of receive and transmit network interface ports. The control plane runs management and control operations, such as routing and policing algorithms which provide the data plane with instructions on how to relay cell/packets/frames. Further, the control plane includes an internal control device that is primarily responsible for managing the internal resources of the network device, and a separate external control device that is primarily responsible for operations relating to the interfacing of the network device with an external environment.