Port extender with local switching
US10951523B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 9, 2018 |
| Grant date | Mar 16, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 20, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/35
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A switching system comprises a controlling switch and a plurality of port extenders. One of the port extenders includes: at least one upstream port; multiple downstream ports; and a forwarding engine. A forwarding database is populated with entries indicating associations between i) respective network addresses corresponding to devices coupled to downstream ports, and ii) respective local downstream ports. The forwarding database excludes entries corresponding to network addresses corresponding to devices coupled to the at least one upstream port. The forwarding engine is configured to: for a first packet received via one of the local downstream ports, and having a destination network address in the forwarding database, forward the first packet to a different local downstream port indicated by the forwarding database. For a second packet received via one of the local downstream ports, and having a destination network address not in the forwarding database, forward the second packet to the at least one upstream port.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.