Patent ID: 8243741

Claim:
A frame switching device for switching frames in a frame switching network, the frame switching device being communicably coupled to other frame switching devices via the frame switching network, the frame switching device comprising: a plurality of ports communicably coupled to the other frame switching devices in the frame switching network each of the plurality of ports sending a sending frame and receiving a frame; a first address entry memory for storing one or more address entries, each storing a first address indicating a sender address of a frame that was received via a first port, in association with the first port; a flooding processor to execute a flooding process for a second address when the second address is not stored in any one of the one or more address entries of the first address entry memory, the second address indicating a destination address of a frame that is to be sent from the frame switching device; and a processor to: determine whether one of first and second events for the second address has occurred or not, the first event indicating that the number of times of executing the flooding process for the second address exceeds a first threshold value, the second event indicating that a time period during which the flooding process for the second address is being executed exceeds a second threshold value; receive a predetermined notification message including addresses that are being stored in at least one address entry of a second address entry memory provided for each of the other frame switching devices, via a second port from the each of the other frame switching devices, and register an address entry that is storing the second address in association with the second port, in the first address entry memory when the second address is included in the received predetermined notification message and it is determined that one of the first and second events for the second address has occurred.