Patent ID: 7769006
Filing Date: 2010-08-03
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a network having at least one switch with a plurality of ingress ports that are each configured to receive at least one frame that includes a tag that identifies a particular network sending the at least one frame, and the at least one switch having at least one egress port on which the at least one frame is output, a method for operating said at least one switch, comprising: mapping the tag that identifies said particular network in the at least one frame of a protocol received at one ingress port of said plurality of ingress ports to a second tag associated with the at least one egress port through which the at least one switch outputs the at least one frame; and overwriting the tag in the at least one frame with the second tag prior to outputting the at least one frame of said protocol on the at least one egress port, wherein said protocol of said at least one frame is unchanged, wherein said second tag comprises a customer descriptor that uniquely identifies a customer sending the at least one frame.