Patent ID: 7869432

Claim:
A method of providing virtual link aggregation in a network, comprising: aggregating first and second sets of multiple physical links, wherein each physical link of the first set of multiple physical links connects at a first end to a first customer packet device, wherein each physical link of the second set of multiple physical links connects at a first end to a second customer packet device, and wherein the second end of each physical link of the first and second sets of multiple physical links connects to a network that is intermediate to the two customer packet devices; the network maintaining a pairing between each physical link in the first set of multiple physical links and a corresponding physical link in the second set of multiple physical links; the network using the pairing to forward a link aggregation packet between the first and second customer packet devices such that the link aggregation packet arriving at the network on one of the physical links in the first set of multiple physical links is directed to exit the network at the corresponding paired physical link in the second set of multiple physical links; wherein a different VMAN tag value is assigned to each of the physical link pairs maintained by the network between the first set of multiple physical links and the second set of multiple physical links; a first network element, connected to one of the pairs of physical links in the first set of multiple physical links on which the link aggregation packet was received, replacing a packet destination address with a second destination address that allows the link aggregation packet to pass through the network, and inserting a VMAN tag in the link aggregation packet, wherein the VMAN tag comprises the particular VMAN tag value assigned to the physical link on which the link aggregation packet was received by the network element; the first network element forwarding the link aggregation packet toward a second network element connected to one of the physical links in the second set of multiple physical links paired with the physical link in the first set of multiple physical links on which the link aggregation packet was received; and the second network element, connected to the one of the physical links in the second set of multiple physical links that is paired with the first set of multiple physical links, replacing the second destination address with a link aggregation destination address, removing the VMAN tag from the link aggregation packet, and forwarding the link aggregation packet on the physical link in the second set of multiple physical links that is paired with the physical link in the first set of multiple physical link on which the aggregation packet was received.