Patent ID: 7986619

Claim:
A packet network system comprising a plurality of ring networks including at least two ring networks which are independently and separately constructed and transfer packets, at least one redundancy network linking said at least two ring networks, a plurality of virtual resilient packet ring (VRPR) networks, each of which is virtually defined independently in respective said at least two ring networks, and another virtual resilient packet ring (VRPR) network virtually defined for a ring network which is formed through said at least two ring networks and said at least one redundancy network, and said packets are transferred through any designated one of said virtual resilient packet ring networks via a gateway node, said gateway node comprising an identifier detection function unit to detect a virtual resilient packet ring network identifier included in a packet transmitted/received in said ring network and a virtual resilient ring network identifier of a packet transmitted/received with said redundancy network, a virtual ring network control function unit to monitor a packet for each virtual resilient packet ring network identifier detected by said identifier detection function unit and control switching of the virtual resilient packet ring, the virtual ring network control function unit including a ring topology table for each virtual resilient packet ring network for identifying topologies of said virtual resilient ring network and including, for each virtual resilient ring network, a virtual data path unit for transmitting/receiving a control packet with said ring topology table to pass the relay packet therethrough, and a packet output unit to transmit a control packet and relay packet from said virtual data path unit to a predetermined ring network or redundancy network according to the content of said ring topology table.