On-demand MAC address lookup
US7778203B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 1, 2008 |
| Grant date | Aug 17, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 21, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L61/5076
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Described is looking up network information (e.g., port data) on demand upon receiving a (e.g., DHCP) request packet containing a MAC address. The MAC address may be looked up in a cache to find the port data. If not cached or cached but outdated, the lookup continues via a querying process that finds the relevant switch containing the port data; the cache is updated based on the querying process result. Successful querying results in a valid cache entry, while unsuccessful querying results in an invalid entry. For port data associated with the MAC address found via the cache or via querying, the port data is used to respond to the request packet, e.g., to assign an IP address to a network device corresponding to that MAC address. For a MAC address determined to be invalid via the cache or via querying, the request is rejected.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.