Patent ID: 7808891

Claim:
A method for sending information from head-end equipment in an in-flight entertainment system (IFES) comprising a plurality of switches, to one of a plurality of seat-end devices in seat-end equipment in the IFES, the method comprising: assigning each of the plurality of switches and plurality of seat-end devices to at least one Internet Protocol (IP) subnet in the IFES, wherein a first plurality of the plurality of seat-end devices are a member of both a first IP subnet and a second IP subnet, the first plurality of seat-end devices communicatively coupled with the head-end equipment via both the first IP subnet and the second IP subnet, the first plurality of seat-end devices comprising the one seat-end device; issuing, by the one seat-end device, a request for the information via the first IP subnet; tagging, by a switch that receives the request, the request based on the first IP subnet in which the one seat end device resides; and sending the information from the head-end equipment to the one seat-end device along an original path including at least one of the switches based on the tag of the request, wherein the first IP subnet comprises the original path, the second IP subnet comprises a redundant path from the head-end equipment to the one seat-end device, the redundant path including at least one switch different from the at least one switch included in the original path, and when a failure occurs in the original path, sending the information along the redundant path to one seat-end device.