Patent ID: 8009684
Filing Date: 2011-08-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for communication, comprising: configuring a plurality of ring nodes to communicate over a communication network comprising at least two communication rings in an asymmetric layout, exactly one of which communication rings is an anchor ring, each communication ring comprising two unidirectional ringlets in mutually-opposite directions, accepting a data packet comprising one or more header fields at an ingress ring node; determining an egress ring node to which the data packet is to be forwarded by the ingress ring node; identifying a subset of the communication rings comprising one or more common communication rings that are connected to both the ingress and egress ring nodes; responsively to a respective value of at least one of the header fields of the packet, selecting a ringlet of a communication ring among the one or more common communication rings; and forwarding the data packet from the ingress ring node to the egress ring node over the selected ringlet.