Patent ID: 8331360

Claim:
A method of re-configuring a network comprising a plurality of routing-bridges (Rbridges) includes the steps of: computing, prior to detection of a trigger condition, an identifier of a primary Rbridge device and an identifier of an alternate Rbridge device to which communications destined for a forwarding target should be forwarded; also prior to detection of the trigger condition, storing at a designated Routing Bridge (Rbridge), for the forwarding target, the primary identifier of the primary Rbridge and the alternate identifier of the alternate Rbridge; and selectively forwarding a packet destined for the forwarding target to either the primary Rbridge or the alternate Rbridge device in response to a detection of a trigger condition at the primary Rbridge; wherein the trigger condition is one of: a failure associated with primary Rbridge communications; congestion associated with the primary Rbridge communications; and detection of a u-turn condition, indicating that the packet received at an Rbridge device was received from a primary next Rbridge device.