Patent ID: 7904584

Claim:
A method of handling frames, said method comprising: receiving a frame at a first network device of an assembly of network devices divided into a first trunk group on a first side and a second trunk group on a second side, wherein the assembly includes a plurality of high-speed links connecting devices on the first side to corresponding devices on the second side, and wherein the first network device has a first high-speed port connected to a first high-speed link of the plurality of high-speed links and is on the first side and a member of the first trunk group, wherein the assembly of network devices include expansion ports connecting network devices located on a same side to each other; determining, using the first network device, whether the frame is destined for a network device of the first trunk group or a second network device of the second trunk group; if the frame is destined for the second network device, determining a path for forwarding the frame to the second side, the path being determined based on achieving a minimized forwarding latency for forwarding the frame to the second network device and including the first high-speed port of the first network device; and if the frame is not destined for one of the network devices of the second trunk group, forwarding the frame from the first network device to a subsequent network device of the first side to which the frame is destined, via an expansion port of the expansion ports.