Obtaining path information related to a virtual private LAN services (VPLS) based network
US7733856B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 15, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jun 8, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 23, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/555
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Path information is obtained in a VPLS-based network by generating special Layer 2 frames (referred to herein as “trace-request frames”), performing source MAC filtering to identify the trace-request frames, and generating a special frame (referred to herein as a “trace-reply frame”) when the source MAC filtering identifies a trace-request frame. Upon identifying a trace-request frame, path information is collected and embedded into the trace-reply frame. The trace-reply frame is then sent to the originating node where the path information is used to learn the path that the trace-request frame traversed. By sending multiple trace-request frames with different source MAC addresses, path information received from source MAC filtering at different nodes in the VPLS-based network can be collected and used to learn an entire path of interest.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.