Patent ID: 7027390

Claim:
A packet routing apparatus which performs transmission/reception of a packet to a network, comprising: a plurality of communication ports including at least one working communication port which performs transmission/reception of a packet for a network and at least one protection communication port which performs transmission/reception of a packet identical to the packet which is subjected to transmission/reception by the working communication port for the network; a plurality of relay processing sections each being connected to at least one communication port of the plurality of communication ports, the plurality of relay processing sections including at least one working relay processing section connected to the at least one working communication port and at least one protection relay processing section connected to the at least one protection communication port, each relay processing section transmitting a packet transferred from another relay processing section to a connected communication port, and the relay processing section transmitting the received packet to another relay processing section according to destination information included in the received packet from the connected communication port; a configuration information storage section which stores therein information indicating whether each of the plurality of relay processing sections is a working relay processing section or a protection relay processing section corresponding to one of the working relay processing section; and a packet switch section which is connected to the plurality of relay processing sections and which receives a packet transmitted from any relay processing section to transfer the packet to another relay processing section according to destination information included in the packet, wherein, where the packet switch section references to the configuration information storage section and finds that a transfer destination of the packet is a working relay processing section, the packet switch section transfers the packet to the relay processing section of the transfer destination and a protection relay processing section corresponding to the relay processing section of the transfer destination.