Patent ID: 6973024

Claim:
A method for switching between at least one first network element and at least one second network element, the first and second network elements each connected to a first network and a second network, the method comprising: configuring the at least one first network element and the at least one second network element to recognize data from the second network; readdressing the data so that it is recognizable by the at least one first network element and the at least one second network element, wherein readdressing the data is accomplished by rewriting a MAC address of data as a multicast address; sending the readdressed data to the at least one first network element and the at least one second network element via the second network; performing a switchover by (i) disconnecting the at least one first network element from the first network, and (ii) connecting the at least one second network element to the first network; whereby the data may be forwarded from the second network to the first network with no loss of data during the switchover from the at least one first network element to the at least one second network element.