Patent ID: 7646769
Filing Date: 2010-01-12
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A data communication system for communicating data between a second and a third network via a first network, the system comprising: a first edge and a second edge present within the first network, for which multi-device link aggregation is implemented; a third edge present within the first network, connected to the first edge via a first virtual circuit and connected to the second edge via a second virtual circuit; a fourth edge present within the second network, connected to the first and second edges by circuits and connected to a host within the second network; and a fifth edge present within the third network, connected to the third edge by a circuit and connected to a host within the third network, wherein when forwarding of a packet from a host in the third network to a host in the second network: the third edge receives the packet sent from the host in the third network via the fifth edge, replicates the packet, and relays these individually to the first and second virtual circuits; and the first edge receives the packet sent from the first virtual circuit while the second edge receives the packet sent from the second virtual circuit, and the first and second edges decide upon the handling of the received packets based on an agreement between them in advance, whereby one of the edges relays the received packet to the fourth edge for forwarding to the host in the second network, while the other edge discards the received packet without relaying it to the fourth edge, wherein the received packet having a first header, the first edge relays the first packet to the fourth edge, whereby the first packet is transferred to the host in the second network, and the second edge discards the first packet without relaying the first packet to the fourth edge, and wherein when the received packet is a second packet having a second header, the second edge relays the second packet to the fourth edge, whereby the second packet is transferred to the host in the second network, and the first edge discards the second packet without relaying the second packet to the fourth edge.