Patent ID: 9106428
Filing Date: 2015-08-11
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for multicast switching for distributed devices, the method comprising: receiving a multicast frame at an ingress node of a network device, wherein the ingress node comprises an ingress buffer dedicated to the ingress node and the ingress node is associated with an ingress switching policy; determining, based on a classification of the multicast frame, whether the ingress switching policy associated with the ingress node indicates that the multicast frame should be stored in the ingress buffer of the ingress node; storing the multicast frame in the ingress buffer associated with the ingress node when the ingress switching policy associated with the ingress node indicates that the multicast frame should be stored in the ingress buffer of the ingress node, otherwise bypassing the ingress buffer of the ingress node; forwarding the multicast frame to a plurality of egress nodes of the network device, each of the plurality of egress nodes comprising a dedicated egress buffer, wherein each of the plurality of egress nodes is associated with a separate egress switching policy that is configurable independently of the ingress switching policy; determining, for each of the plurality of egress nodes, whether to store the multicast frame in the egress buffer of each of the plurality of egress nodes based on the egress switching policy; storing, for each of the plurality of egress nodes, the multicast frame in the egress buffer of each of the plurality of egress nodes when the egress switching policy associated with each of the plurality of egress nodes indicates that the multicast frame should be stored in the egress buffer of each of the plurality of egress nodes, otherwise bypassing the egress buffer of the each of the plurality of egress nodes; and transmitting, by each of the plurality of egress nodes, the multicast frame to at least one egress port.