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:
Mar. 04, 2008
Filed:
Jul. 13, 2005
David Stephen Griswold, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Prayson Will Pate, Durham, NC (US);
Robert Leroy Lynch, Raleigh, NC (US);
Glenn Russell Swope, Raleigh, NC (US);
David Stephen Griswold, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Prayson Will Pate, Durham, NC (US);
Robert Leroy Lynch, Raleigh, NC (US);
Glenn Russell Swope, Raleigh, NC (US);
Overture Networks, Inc., Morrisville, NC (US);
Abstract
Normal 802.3 Ethernet requires a tree topology. If a ring or a loop exists, then packets will be forwarded around the ring indefinitely. If the ring is broken, then there is no possibility of packets being propagated forever. This invention shows how to quickly impose a virtual break in the ring such that all nodes can communicate with each other, and how to remove the virtual break when a real failure occurs. This is accomplished by placing intelligent nodes on the ring that work together to virtually break and restore the ring. An embodiment is disclosed that allows a ring node to bridge user traffic in the case that no switch table entry is present for that traffic. This abstract is provided as an aid to those performing prior art searches and not a limitation on the scope of the claims.