Patent ID: 8427953
Filing Date: 2013-04-23
Classification: H04L,Y02D

Abstract:
1. A method for assigning and utilizing an Ethernet physical data port in an Ethernet Link Aggregation Group (LAG) located downstream from a preceding node in a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network tunnel employing Resource Reservation Protocol Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE) tunnel provisioning, the method comprising: sending downstream, by the preceding node, an RSVP-TE PATH message augmented with a LABEL_REQUEST object; receiving, by a first MPLS/LAG switch, said RSVP-TE PATH message and said LABEL_REQUEST object; designating a plurality of physical data ports in the LAG as a single logical port; selecting, by said first MPLS/LAG switch from said plurality of physical data ports in said single logical port, a single physical tunnel port which meets a bandwidth requirement of the network tunnel, wherein said single physical tunnel port has a port serial number; assigning said single physical tunnel port to the network tunnel; preparing, by said first MPLS/LAG switch, a data packet label by which said single physical tunnel port may be identified; selecting a hashing function, whose argument is said data packet label and whose value is the port serial number of said single physical tunnel port; obtaining an inverse of said hashing function, whose argument is said serial port number of said single physical tunnel port and whose value is said data packet label; performing said inverse of said hashing function on said serial port number of said single physical tunnel port to obtain said data packet label; sending said data packet label to the preceding node; attaching said data packet label to all data packets sent by the preceding node which are associated with the network tunnel; receiving a data packet having said data packet label at said first MPLS/LAG switch; performing said hashing function on said data packet label to obtain said serial port number of said single physical tunnel port; and switching said data packet to said single physical tunnel port according to said serial port number, and sending said data packet to a second MPLS/LAG switch via said single physical tunnel port.