Patent ID: 7689882
Filing Date: 2010-03-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A network relay apparatus located at one node of a network, said relay apparatus comprising: a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports, each of said input and output ports being communicably connected to a link of a network; a plurality of paths, each oath connecting one of the input ports to at least one of the output ports; a producing unit which produces a diagnostic data file having a target address which indicates a target output port that is one part of a target node of the network to which the diagnostic data file is to be delivered; a port selecting unit that reads the target address in the diagnostic data file to select a target output port that is at least one of the output ports through which the diagnostic data file is to be outputted to the target node; a path selecting unit that selects one of the paths as a selected path along which the diagnostic data file is to be carried to the target output port; an output unit which sends the diagnostic data file produced by the producing unit to the target output port selected by the port selecting unit via the selected path; and a fault diagnostic unit which detects which one of the output ports the diagnostic data file has arrived at to determine whether or not a fault has occurred in at least one of the port selecting unit, the path selecting unit and the plurality of paths in the network relay apparatus based on consistency between the output port at which the diagnostic data file has arrived and the target output port.