Patent ID: 8411689

Claim:
An internetwork comprising three or more switching nodes disposed between a source node and a destination node wherein: a first switching node of the three or more switching nodes is configured to tag a frame received from the source node with a first virtual local area network (VLAN) designator and output via at least one port the frame tagged with the first VLAN designator, said first switching node having a first table for directed port routing; a second switching node of the three or more switching nodes is configured to tag a frame received from the source node with a second VLAN designator and output via at least one port the frame tagged with the second VLAN designator, said second switching node having a second table for directed port routing; and a third switching node of the three or more switching nodes is configured to exclude from output, via at least one port, a received frame having the first VLAN designator; and wherein the destination node is configured to receive at least one of: a frame having the first VLAN designator and a frame having the second VLAN designator.