Patent ID: 11924088
Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Field: Digital communication (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method for routing data at a network comprising at least two network devices and a plurality of downstream devices or networks, the downstream devices or networks communicatively coupled to network interfaces of the network devices using a plurality of data cables, the data cables each comprising a switch device configured to switch communication paths to the coupled network devices, each of the data cables communicatively coupling each of the network devices to one of the plurality of downstream devices or networks so that each of the downstream devices or networks has a communications path to each of the network devices and a switchable communications path from each of the network devices, wherein the network devices do not arbitrate active/passive status via direct communication, the method comprising:
sending, by a first of the network devices, a request packet to a first communicatively coupled downstream device or network, wherein the request packet is in accordance with a network protocol and is sent by a communication path corresponding to a first of the data cables connecting a first of the network interfaces to the first communicatively coupled downstream device or network;
sending, by a second of the network devices, a request packet in accordance with the network protocol to the first communicatively coupled downstream device or network;
receiving, by the first and second network devices, a reply packet from the first communicatively coupled downstream device or network, wherein the reply packet is generated in accordance with the network protocol in response to the request packet sent by the first network device based on the first data cable connecting the first network interface to the first communicatively coupled downstream device or network;
based on data contained in the reply packet indicating that the request packet sent by the first network device was acknowledged in accordance with the network protocol, determining, by the first network device, that the first network device is an active network device, wherein the determining is performed independently of communication with the second network device that is not in accordance with the network protocol; and
based on its status as the active network device, forwarding, by the first network device to the first communicatively coupled downstream device or network, tunneled data packets received from the second network device.