Patent ID: 7640359

Claim:
A method for facilitating design and assignment of Ethernet VLANs, said method comprising: receiving a VLAN name, a class of service and two or more access ports, wherein a VLAN is a virtual local area network; determining switches and trunks associated with said access ports; searching a VLAN database for said VLAN; creating a VLAN if said searching does not result in locating said VLAN, wherein said creating includes: selecting a starting access port from said two or more access ports, mapping a base path from said starting access port to another of said access ports, wherein said base path includes one or more of said switches and one or more of said trunks, and adding said base path to said VLAN including said starting access port and said another of said access ports; for each said two or more access ports not currently located in the VLAN: mapping a new path from said access port to one of said switches in said VLAN, adding said new path to said VLAN including said access port, and transmitting said VLAN to said VLAN database; and adding a new access port to an existing VLAN, if said searching results in locating the existing VLAN, by: determining a list of shortest paths with capacity for said new access port, performing one of determining a lowest hub value, if there is more than one path in the list of shortest paths, and adding said new access port to the existing VLAN, if there is at least one physical path.