Patent ID: 9426064
Filing Date: 2016-08-23
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising: receiving an incoming packet at a first rack domain node having a first gravity well value, the first rack domain node included in a rack domain; determining whether to forward the incoming packet using gravity well forwarding, including determining whether a destination node for the incoming packet is included in the rack domain; when the destination node is included in the rack domain, forwarding the incoming packet using gravity well forwarding within the rack domain, further comprising: when the destination node is not included in the rack domain, forwarding the incoming packet to the destination node without using gravity well forwarding, wherein respective gravity well values assigned to a plurality of rack domain nodes within the rack domain, including the first rack domain node, the second rack domain node, and the third rack domain node, are unique gravity well values that avoid looped forwarding paths within the rack domain when gravity well forwarding is used, and wherein selecting the output port further comprises: