Patent ID: 8694654

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a first network control entity associated with at least a portion of a plurality of data ports at a first access switch to be operatively coupled to a first peripheral processing device and a switch fabric, the first network control entity to receive an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) request from the first peripheral processing device, the first network control entity to transmit the ARP request to a second network control entity such that the ARP request causes the second network control entity to: (i) determine a network location of a second access switch operatively coupled to the switch fabric and (ii) define a response to the ARP request based at least on information received from a third network control entity associated with at least a portion of a plurality of data ports at the second access switch operatively coupled to the switch fabric at the network location, the information including a Media Access Control (MAC) address of a second peripheral processing device operatively coupled to the third network control entity, the first network control entity to receive the response to the ARP request from the second network control entity and to transmit the response to the ARP request to the first peripheral processing device.