Patent ID: 9391887
Filing Date: 2016-07-12
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A packet forwarding method, comprising: obtaining, by a mapping server, path information on an external network through a forwarding device connected to the external network; generating, by the mapping server, a mapping information item that relates the path information and identification information of the forwarding device; by a control device, searching for identification information of a second forwarding device that corresponds to a destination address of a received packet based on the mapping information item; by the control device, calculating a path from a first forwarding device to the second forwarding device; by the control device, setting the calculated path to a forwarding device(s) along the calculated path; and by the first forwarding device, forwarding along the calculated path a packet having the same destination address as the received packet, wherein each of the first and second forwarding devices comprises a flow table, the flow table includes a per flow rule to be matched with a packet header, an action defining action on a flow, and an activity counter including flow statistics information.