Patent ID: 9608841
Date: 2017-03-28
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: receiving an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) data packet at a first data switching device, the ARP data packet received via a Split Multi-Link Trunking (SMLT) port of the first data Switching device; creating a record of the ARP data packet in a forwarding database of the first data switching device, the record indicating a Media Access Control (MAC) address linked to the SMLT port for data forwarding operations, the MAC address identified from inspection of the ARP data packet; modifying control information of a copy of the ARP data packet, the modified control information indicating that the copy of the ARP data packet was received via the SMLT port; forwarding the copy of the ARP data packet, having the modified control information, to a second data switching device via an Inter-Switch Trunk (IST) port; receiving a second ARP data packet at the first data switching device, the second ARP data packet received from the second data switching device via the IST port, the second ARP data packet including control information modified by the second data switching device, the modified control information indicating that the second ARP data packet was received via the SMLT port; creating a record of the second ARP data packet in the forwarding database of the first data switching device, the record of the second ARP data packet indicating a second Media Access Control (MAC) address linked to the SMLT port for data forwarding operations, the second MAC address identified from inspection of the second ARP data packet; and reconstructing the control information of the second ARP data packet to control information of the second ARP data packet as existed prior to modification.