Patent ID: 7554990

Claim:
A method in a data network, the data network including a plurality of terminal points interconnected by one or more network intermediate devices, the method comprising: transmitting an invitation message from a first terminal point, the invitation message being broadcast through the one or more network intermediate devices of the data network to the plurality of terminal points; in response to the invitation message, sending a reservation response message from a second terminal point, the reservation response message being broadcast through the one or more network intermediate devices of the data network to the plurality of terminal points; receiving the reservation response message at a first network intermediate device; and in response to the reservation response message, storing in a forwarding address table in the first network intermediate device for a reservation cycle a static forwarding address entry including the source address of the reservation response message and an identification of the port of the first network intermediate device on which the reservation response message is received, the static forwarding address entry being subjected to an aging process determined by the reservation cycle wherein the reservation cycle has a duration longer than a duration of a dynamic address entry aging process.