Patent ID: 8750307

Claim:
A switch of a Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) data network, comprising: a plurality of ports; a switch fabric coupled to the plurality of ports; and a switch controller that controls switching of data frames between the plurality of ports via the switch fabric and that implements both a bridge and a virtual bridge, wherein the switch controller is configured to: in response to receipt of a data frame by the switch of the TRILL data network from an external link, perform a lookup in a data structure using a source media access control (SMAC) address specified by the data frame; determine if the external link is configured in a link aggregation group (LAG) and if the SMAC address is newly learned; in response to a determination that the external link is configured in a LAG and the SMAC address is newly learned, associate the SMAC with the virtual bridge in a first association and communicate the first association to a plurality of bridges in the TRILL data network utilizing End Station Address Distribution Instance (ESADI) communication; and in response to the switch of the TRILL data network receiving a second association between a virtual bridge and a SMAC address from another switch of the TRILL data network, binds the SMAC address specified in the second association with a local physical port if said another switch of the TRILL data network supports a common link aggregation group with the switch of the TRILL data network and otherwise binds the SMAC address specified in the second association with a virtual port.