Patent ID: 7286533

Claim:
A method for routing data frames, the method comprising: providing a bridge device having a plurality of ports and a shared forwarding database, the plurality of ports comprising a local interface port for connecting the bridge to a plurality of end devices operating on different virtual local area networks (VLANs) and a plurality of remote interface ports for connecting to a connection-based network; creating an entry in the shared forwarding database, the entry indexed exclusively by an address of a non-VLAN-aware network element connected to the connection-based network and the entry indicating that data addressed to the non-VLAN-aware network element should be source routed; receiving, at the local interface port from one of the end devices, a data frame addressed to the non-VLAN-aware network element; determining that the data frame requires source routing based on the entry in the shared forwarding database; reading source routing data from the data frame, the source routing data independent of the address of the non-VLAN-aware network element; identifying one of the remote interface ports associated with the one of the end devices, based at least in part on the source routing data; and, sending the data frame to the identified one of the remote interface ports.