Method for the provision of gateway anycast virtual MAC reachability in extended subnets
US8848508B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 16, 2009 |
| Grant date | Sep 30, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 21, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/351
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for providing gateway anycast virtual MAC reachability in extended subnets. When an extended L2 subnet spans more than one geographical location, it is desirable that the gateway MAC addresses learned in each location be the same across all IP hosts. Accordingly, the gateway MAC address may be preserved (i.e., programmed) in more than one port on a bridge, such as both a local port and a LAN extension port. The bridge may forward traffic having the anycast MAC address to the closest instance of the MAC address, rather than replicating the traffic to the multiple ports on which the anycast MAC address is programmed. If the gateway reachable on the local port goes down, the frame may be forwarded to the local gateway in the second layer 2 subnet over the LAN extension port.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.