Patent ID: 7227838

Claim:
A network system operable to forward data within a computer network, the network system comprising: a first router having a plurality of first virtual interfaces configurable to correspond selectively to one or more physical ports of the network system, the first router being configured to enable the first virtual interfaces when the first router is assigned to be a designated router and to disable the first virtual interfaces when the first router is not assigned to be a designated router, wherein the first virtual interfaces are configurable so as to correspond to a different set of one or more physical ports for different time periods; a second router having a plurality of second virtual interfaces configurable to correspond selectively to one or more physical ports of the network system, the second router being configured to enable the second virtual interfaces when the second router is assigned to be a designated router and to disable the second virtual interfaces when the second router is not assigned to be a designated router, wherein the second virtual interfaces are configurable so as to correspond to a different set of one or more physical ports for different time periods; and a supervisor module configured to assign a selected one of the first and second routers to be a designated router, wherein each first virtual interface of the first router has a same internet protocol (IP) address and media access control (MAC) address as each corresponding second virtual interface of the second router.