Patent Document ID: 10153944
Application ID: 15276619
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method comprising: receiving, by a first network device in a system of network devices, a join message from a second network device in the system, the join message including a link aggregation group (LAG) configuration for one or more LAGs programmed on the second network device, the LAG configuration specifying a first set of LAGs for the second network device and, for each LAG in the first set of LAGs, port identifiers of ports included in said each LAG; determining, by the first network device, whether a provisional LAG configuration for the one or more LAGs of the second network device exists on the first network device, the provisional LAG configuration specifying a second set of LAGs for the second network device and, for each LAG in the second set of LAGs, port identifiers of ports included in said each LAG; if the provisional LAG configuration does not exist on the first network device: learning, by the first network device, the LAG configuration included in the join message; and integrating, by the first network device, the second network device into the system based on the learned LAG configuration; and if the provisional LAG configuration does exist on the first network device: checking whether a number of LAGs in the first set of LAGs matches a number of LAGs in the second set of LAGs; and checking whether the port IDs of ports included in said each LAG of the first set of LAGs match the port IDs of ports included in said each LAG of the second set of LAGs.