Patent ID: 9021098
Filing Date: 2015-04-28
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: maintaining, by a network device, a first map that indicates global identifiers that are each allocable to any of a plurality of forwarding units of the network device, and a plurality of second maps, each of the plurality of second maps associated with a respective forwarding unit of the plurality of forwarding units, wherein each respective map of the plurality of second maps indicates local identifiers that are allocated to a respective forwarding unit of the plurality of forwarding units, wherein each of the local identifiers is a portion of two or more of the global identifiers; and allocating to one of the plurality of forwarding units, by the network device, a global identifier indicated by the first map that is not allocated to any one of the plurality of forwarding units by comparing at least one map of the plurality of second maps to one or more portions of the first map to identify the unallocated global identifier of the first map, wherein the at least one map of the plurality of second maps is associated with the one of the plurality of forwarding units, and wherein a portion of the unallocated global identifier is an unallocated local identifier of the one of the plurality of forwarding units.