Patent ID: 6122256
Filing Date: 2000-09-19
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A communications network for carrying messages, comprising:a communications medium;a primary node coupled to the communications medium; andat least one secondary node coupled to the communications medium;wherein each of the primary node and the at least one secondary node include first and second ports, the respective first and second ports being coupled to the communications medium so that the primary node and the at least one secondary node are connected in series;wherein the at least one secondary node includes a processor and memory for storing an indication of the port at which an associated message was received at the node, so that:if a message received at the at least one secondary node is a command addressed to that node, a response to the command is sent back to the primary node of the network on the port from which the command was received;if a message received at the at least one secondary node is a broadcast command addressed to all secondary nodes, or is a command addressed to a different secondary node, the command is forwarded to the other nodes on the network on the respective other port from the port on which command was received; andif a message received at the at least one secondary node is a response from a different secondary node, the response is forwarded to the primary node of the network on the respective other port from the port on which the response was received.