Patent ID: 8238358
Filing Date: 2012-08-07
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A ring network comprising communication devices having an RPR (Resilient Packet Ring) function and a plurality of RPR rings each of which is connected to the same communication devices as those which another of the RPR rings is connected, wherein each of the communication, devices comprises: wherein the frame-transfer functional unit transfers the frame to the ring selecting unit with the frame added with a header in a device, wherein the ring selecting unit includes a port selecting function for transferring the frame to a destination retrieved from a switch table based on information about the header in the device added to the frame, and a grouping function that distributes a frame addressed to a predetermined port to a plurality of ports, wherein one of the communication devices performs said port selecting function and said grouping function, wherein the different frame-transfer functional unit connects the ring selecting unit to the ring processing functional unit, wherein the different frame-transfer functional unit selects one of a plurality of ones of the frame-transfer functional unit to which the frame is transferred, and transfers the frame to the ring selecting unit, and wherein a port selecting processing based on said port selecting function and a grouping processing based on said grouping function are exclusively performed by the ring selecting unit of said each of the communication devices.