Patent ID: 8018861

Claim:
A method for transferring a data packet across a first bridge linking at least two parts of a communication network, the data packet including at least one information field identifying a path of the data packet across the network, the at least one information field containing a plurality of routing identifiers identifying all intermediate pieces of interconnection equipment through which the data packet will travel between a source bridge and a destination bridge at respective ends of the path of the data packet, the source bridge being connected to a bus that is connected to a plurality of peripherals including a source peripheral that transmits the data packet, the destination bridge being connected to a bus that is connected to a plurality of peripherals including a destination peripheral that receives the data packet, the data packet transmitted by the source peripheral including a source field containing a physical identifier of the source peripheral and a destination field containing a virtual identifier of the destination peripheral, the method comprising: a reading step of reading, from the data packet, the at least one information field containing the plurality of routing identifiers identifying all intermediate pieces of interconnection equipment through which the data packet will travel; a transferring step of transferring the data packet across the first bridge according to the at least one information field containing the plurality of routing identifiers identifying all intermediate pieces of interconnection equipment through which the data packet will travel that is read in the reading step; a determining step of determining, based on the at least one information field containing the plurality of routing identifiers identifying all intermediate pieces of interconnection equipment through which the data packet will travel read in the reading step, whether a position of the data packet corresponds to the source bridge or the destination bridge; and a modifying step, performed by the source bridge or the destination bridge, of modifying the at least one information field to indicate that the position of the data packet corresponds to the source bridge or the destination bridge, if a determination is made in the determining step that the position of the data packet corresponds to the source bridge or the destination bridge, and modifying a field of the data packet by replacing the physical identifier contained in the source field of the data packet with a virtual identifier of the source peripheral, when the position of the data packet corresponds to the source bridge, and by replacing the virtual identifier contained in the destination field of the data packet with a physical identifier of the destination peripheral, when the packet is in the position corresponding to the destination bridge.