Patent ID: 9203644
Filing Date: 2015-12-01
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for enabling an Ethernet ring to scalably support a hub-and-spoke connectivity model, the method comprising: receiving, from one of a plurality of spoke nodes by a hub node on the Ethernet ring at a first of two ports connected to the Ethernet ring, a first frame containing a source network address, a destination network address, a client virtual local area network (VLAN) identifier (C-VID) and a ring VLAN identifier (RVID), the destination network address identifying an external network address not located on the ring, and the RVID differing from a service instance tag (I-SID) and identifying one of the plurality of spoke nodes on the Ethernet ring; learning, by the hub node, the C-VID and the RVID from the first frame on the first of the two ports connected to the Ethernet ring without learning the first frame source network address at the first of the two ports connected to the Ethernet ring; assigning, by the hub node, the I-SID based on the received C-VID and RVID; determining which one of the two ports to be used for transmission based on the received C-VID and RVID; assigning, for traffic to be transmitted to at least one of the plurality of spoke nodes, a second RVID that differs from the RVID; inserting, by the hub node for traffic to be transmitted to at least one of the plurality of spoke nodes, the second RVID in the first frame; transmitting, by the hub node and the determined one of the two ports, to the at least one of plurality of spoke nodes the first frame with the inserted second RVID; and transmitting, by the hub, the first frame on an external network port off the Ethernet ring toward the destination network address, using the I-SID.