Patent ID: 8929361
Filing Date: 2015-01-06
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for discovering network elements assigned to a same group in a distributed fabric system, the method comprising: periodically multicasting, by each network element of a plurality of network elements assigned to the same group, switch discovery protocol data units (SDPDUs) using one of a plurality of transmission rates, the plurality of transmission rates including a fast transmission rate and a slow transmission rate; detecting, by one or more of the network elements of the plurality of network elements assigned to the same group, stability among all network elements of the plurality of network elements assigned to the same group in the distributed fabric system, wherein a criterion for detecting stability is that a number of consecutive transmissions of an unchanged SDPDU, by each of the one or more network elements that detect stability, exceeds a threshold; and changing, by the one or more network elements that detected stability, the transmission rate from the fast transmission rate to the slow transmission rate in response to the detected stability.