US6289017B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of providing redundancy and load sharing among multiple LECs in an asynchronous mode network
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1998-05-29
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Granted: 2001-09-11
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Expires: 2018-05-29
Abstract
Abstract A method of providing redundancy and load sharing among multiple LECSs in an ATM network. The method creates and maintains a plurality of lists on each of the switches. Each list is an ordered set of LECSs that combine to create an active LECS list. The network is divided into a plurality of groups wherein each group is assigned one of the active LECS lists. The order of each active LECS list is unique in that no two groups have the same order of LECS. The first LECS on each list has the highest priority and is always the first choice when a request to join a VLAN is received from one of the connected LECs. If the primary lECS fails or cannot be reached for any reason, the switches utilize the second LECS on the list. Splitting up the network into multiple groups and assigning different lists serves to provide load sharing among the LECS. In the event the currently active LECS fails, the next on the list takes overt thus providing redundancy.
Inventors
- 👤 Sarit Shani
- 👤 Yoram Shamir
- 👤 Miki Kenneth
- 👤 Haim Rochberger
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 13:22
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L12/00; H04L12/28; H04L12/46; H04L12/4604; H04L12/4608; H04Q; H04Q11/00; H04Q11/04; H04Q11/0428; H04Q11/0478; H04L12/54; H04L12/56; H04L12/5601; H04L2012/5614; H04L2012/5617; H04L2012/5619; H04L2012/5629; H04L2012/563; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/13103; H04Q2213/13164; H04Q2213/13166; H04Q2213/13167; H04Q2213/13204; H04Q2213/1329; H04Q2213/1336; H04Q2213/1338
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
188 words
In a network consisting of a plurality of network devices, some of which are switches, and an emulated local area network (ELAN), said ELAN having K LAN emulation configuration servers (LECSs), one or more LAN emulation servers (LESs), one or more LAN emulation clients (LECs) and a network management system (NMS), a method of establishing a connection between a LEC and a LECS, said method comprising the steps of: monitoring said plurality of network devices on a continuous basis so as to construct a physical and logical topology of said network from information collected; maintaining a main active list consisting of a maximum of N LECSs wherein said active list consists of M LECSs at any point in time, wherein M is less than or equal to N; generating M active lists from said main active list whereby each active list contains the same contents but in a unique order to other active lists; dividing said network into M groups of switches; assigning and storing one of said active lists to each group within said M groups of switches; and wherein K, M and N are positive integers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
188 words
In a network consisting of a plurality of network devices, some of which are switches, and an emulated local area network (ELAN), said ELAN having K LAN emulation configuration servers (LECSs), one or more LAN emulation servers (LESs), one or more LAN emulation clients (LECs) and a network management system (NMS), a method of establishing a connection between a LEC and a LECS, said method comprising the steps of: monitoring said plurality of network devices on a continuous basis so as to construct a physical and logical topology of said network from information collected; maintaining a main active list consisting of a maximum of N LECSs wherein said active list consists of M LECSs at any point in time, wherein M is less than or equal to N; generating M active lists from said main active list whereby each active list contains the same contents but in a unique order to other active lists; dividing said network into M groups of switches; assigning and storing one of said active lists to each group within said M groups of switches; and wherein K, M and N are positive integers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method according to claim 1 , where said step of monitoring comprises the step of collecting status related information by polling via said NMS and one or more management information base (MIBs) located in said plurality of network devices.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method according to claim 2 , wherein said step of collecting status related information utilizes out of band Ethernet based communications between said NMS and said one or more MIBs.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method according to claim 2 , wherein said step of collecting status related information utilizes in band LAN Emulation based communications between said NMS and said one or more MIBs.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: detects in the addition of a new LECS; incrementing, K by one; updating the database in said new LECS with a corresponding active list; adding said new LECS to said main active list if M is less then N; incrementing M by one; repeating said steps of generating, dividing and assigning and storing; and adding said new LECS to a waiting list if M equals N.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: detecting the removal of an old LECS; removing said old LECS from said main active list if it is on it; decrementing M by one; repeating said steps of generating, dividing and assigning and storing; and removing said old LECS from a waiting list if said old LECS is not on said main active list.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: detecting the removal of an old LECS; replacing said old LECS from said main active list with a LECS on a waiting list; repeating said steps of generating, dividing and assigning and storing; and removing said old LECS from a waiting list if said old LECS is not on said main active list.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 1 , where each active list generated contains a different LECS as the first entry, thus providing load sharing among the group of M LECSs on said main active list.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the event of a failure to establish a connection to a currently active LECS, the next LECS on a corresponding active list is made the active LECS, thus providing redundancy among the LECSs on said corresponding active list.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of a network administrator manually generating said main active list thus determining the order of said LECSs and subsequently storing said main active list in each switch in said network.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: manually generating one or more active lists from said main active list; dividing said network into one or more groups; and storing one active list in each of said groups.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: detecting the addition of a new switch; adding said new switch to one of said M groups of switches; and writing a corresponding active list to said new switch.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of translating a well known address into a real address.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method according to claim 13 , wherein said step of translating comprises the steps of: issuing a setup request message from a LEC using said well known address; receiving said setup request message by an edge switch; replacing said well known address with the first LECS address on an active list, said active list associated with the group said edge switch is a member of; and routing said setup request message to a next hop along an associated route.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method according to claim 14 , further comprising the step of re-generating said setup request message to be sent to the next switch in response to receiving a release message.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-09-10 | 2005-03-12 | 2005-09-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-09-10 | 2009-03-12 | 2009-09-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-09-10 | 2013-03-12 | 2013-09-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |