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. 05, 2004
Filed:
May. 01, 2000
Daniel M O'Keeffe, Ballyhooly, IE;
Kevin Loughran, Castleblayney, IE;
Mark A Hughes, Dublin, IE;
Paul J Moran, Hemel Hempstead, GB;
3Com Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A network switch comprises a multiplicity of ports for receiving and forwarding addressed data packets, a forwarding engine for directing packets received at the ports to at least one other port, a register for storing unit identifications of a set of units including the network unit, and hashing logic for selecting one of the unit identifications in response to address data in a packet. The forwarding engine makes a determination whether the one of the unit identifications corresponds to the network unit and is operative to direct the packet in accordance with that determination. The use of the register enables a substantial increase in the number of ports that can be members of a stack-wide trunk.