Patent ID: 8140688
Filing Date: 2012-03-20
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for establishing a connection between a plurality of nodes in a communication network, the plurality of nodes including a first node and a second node, the method comprising the steps of: verifying availability of the second node by the first node, including the first node sending a probe command to the second node to verify reachability of the second node and to initiate a link level connection between the first node and the second node, and the second node, in response to receiving the probe command, sending a probe response to the first node; the first node, in response to receiving the probe response, confirming the link level connection with the second node and sending a single exchange identification (XID) request to the second node, the single XID request including information related to protocols supported by the first node; and the second node, in response to receiving the single exchange identification request, sending a single exchange identification (XID) response to the first node, the single XID response including information related to protocols supported by the second node; and wherein the single XID request and the single XID response together contain all the information needed to complete a successful link activation between the first and second nodes without requiring any further change of state of either the first node or the second node after the exchange of the probe command and the probe response.