Patent ID: 9426092
Filing Date: 2016-08-23
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A switching system coupling an external network to a wide area network, the system comprising: a plurality of edge switches communicatively coupled to the external network; a plurality of core switches communicatively coupled to the wide area network; and an interconnected matrix of switches communicatively coupled to the core switches and the edge switches and configured to forward communication traffic between the edge switches and the core switches; and wherein the interconnected matrix of switches comprises multiple stages of switches; wherein each of the edge switches, core switches and interconnected matrix of switches is an independent switching element associated with a forwarding protocol configured to operate independently from one another; wherein each of the edge switches, core switches and interconnected matrix of switches develops a forwarding table by exchanging route information with the other switches; and wherein each of the interconnected matrix of switches is configured with its own broadcast local area network (LAN) facing the edge switches.