Patent ID: 7486691

Claim:
A method for assigning a primary trunking connection between a switch pair, comprising the steps of: supplying a first switch and a second switch, wherein said first switch is directly interconnected to said second switch, and wherein said first switch and said second switch comprise said switch pair; exchanging, between said switch pair, first identity data for each switch of said switch pair and second identity data for ports owned by each switch of said switch pair; using said first identity data, by each switch of said switch pair independently, to determine which switch of said switch pair is master and which switch of said switch pair is subordinate; using said second identity data, by each switch of said switch pair independently, to determine which of said ports owned by said master has primacy over all other of said ports owned by said master; responsive to said determining, nominating, by each switch of said switch pair independently, a connection between said port having primacy at said master and any port owned by said subordinate, as primary trunking connection; wherein said first identity data and said second identity data is exchanged using a single exchange between said switch pair.