Patent ID: 8358597

Claim:
A method for building a scalable Ethernet switch network with a plurality of edge ports, connected to a plurality of end-stations, the method comprising: creating by a processor a fat-tree topology including a plurality of Ethernet switches, arranged in tiers, the tiers including one top tier and at least one lower tiers, the top tier including at least one top-tier switches, the lower tiers including lower-tier switches, the lower-tier switches including downstream ports and upstream ports, wherein a top-tier switch of said at least one top-tier switches includes a database, the database storing mappings of a MAC address and path information, the MAC address belonging to one of said plurality of end-stations, the path information including a sequence of PVIDs (Port VLAN Identifiers), the sequence of PVIDs representing a sequence of said downstream ports for a packet to go out of said scalable Ethernet switch network from said top-tier switch of said at least one top-tier switches via said lower-tier switches; configuring by the processor said downstream ports to be access ports; assigning by the processor some VIDs (VLAN Identifiers), out of all VIDs, as PVIDs of said downstream ports such that said PVIDs of downstream ports are unique within each of said lower-tier switches; configuring by the processor upstream ports to be trunk ports with egress tagging enabled for said all VIDs and with ingress filtering disabled; disabling by the processor spanning tree and putting by the processor said downstream ports and said upstream ports in forwarding state; and performing a learning process and a forwarding process at said at least one top-tier switches using said database.