Patent ID: 7599315
Filing Date: 2009-10-06
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a network having a ring oriented topology with a plurality of stations linked through a pair of counter rotating ringlets, a respective said station having a first neighboring station in a first direction and a second neighboring station in a second direction, a method of communicating network topology information among the stations, comprising the steps of: (a) said respective station exchanging, through the ringlets, a first discovery message with said first neighboring station in said first direction and a second discovery message with said second neighboring station in said second direction, the discovery messages being exchanged only with said first and second neighboring stations without forwarding the discovery messages to stations beyond said first and second neighboring stations, the discovery messages including topology databases stored in the first and second neighboring stations, said topology databases providing address and connectivity information pertaining to the stations in said network; (b) updating a topology database provided at said respective station with the address and connectivity information received from said first and second neighboring stations; and (c) repeating the above steps to complete a current topology image of the network at said respective station and at each station connected in said network, wherein said discovery messages are sent at a predetermined timer setting Td, and wherein said address information for said respective station includes a unique address in said network which is a combination of respective addresses of said respective station on both counter rotating ringlets, and wherein the topology image is completed once a node placed at about ½ of the ring length from said respective station receives messages containing topology information on said respective station in both said first and second directions.