Method and system for link aggregation across multiple switches
View Patent ↗One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a forwarding mechanism and a control mechanism. During operation, the forwarding mechanism forwards frames based on their Ethernet headers. The control mechanism operates the switch in conjunction with a separate physical switch as a single logical switch and assigns a virtual switch identifier to the logical switch, wherein the virtual switch identifier is associated with a link aggregation group.
1. A switch, comprising: a forwarding module configurable to forward frames based on their Ethernet headers; a control module configurable to operate the switch in conjunction with a separate physical switch as a single logical switch and assign a virtual switch identifier to the logical switch, wherein the virtual switch identifier is associated with a link aggregation group; wherein the switch is a layer-2 switch capable of routing without requiring the network topology to be based on a spanning tree topology; and wherein the control module is further configurable to derive the virtual switch identifier based on an identifier for the link aggregation group.
2. The switch of claim 1 , wherein the switch is a routing bridge configurable to operate in accordance with the Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol.
3. The switch of claim 1 , wherein the control module is further configurable to derive the virtual switch identifier based on an identifier for the link aggregation group.
4. The switch of claim 1 , wherein the virtual switch identifier is a virtual RBridge identifier in compliance with the TRILL protocol.
5. The switch of claim 1 , wherein the link aggregation group is identified by a link aggregation group (LAG) identifier in accordance to the IEEE 802.1ax standard.
6. The switch of claim 1 , wherein the switch is a router configurable to operate in accordance with the Internet Protocol (IP).
7. The switch of claim 1 , wherein the switch is configurable to operate in accordance with the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) protocol.
8. A method, comprising:
forwarding frames received at a switch based on their Ethernet headers;
operating the switch in conjunction with a separate physical switch as a single logical switch;
assigning a virtual switch identifier to the logical switch, wherein the virtual switch identifier is associated with a link aggregation group;
wherein the switch is a layer-2 switch capable of routing without requiring the network topology to be based on a spanning tree topology; and deriving the virtual switch identifier based on an identifier for the link aggregation group.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising performing a layer-2 routing function in accordance with the Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol.
10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising deriving the virtual switch identifier based on an identifier for the link aggregation group.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the virtual switch identifier is a virtual RBridge identifier in compliance with the Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the link aggregation group is identified by a link aggregation group (LAG) identifier in accordance to the IEEE 802.1ax standard.
13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising placing the virtual switch identifier in the header of an ingress frame.
14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising notifying a separate physical switch about the reachability of a media access control (MAC) address associated with a device coupled to the switch.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein upon detecting a failure of a link between the device and the separate physical switch, the method further comprises disassociating the device from the virtual switch.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein upon detecting a failure of a link between the device and the switch, the method further comprises notifying the separate physical switch of the failure via an inter-switch communication channel.
17. The method of claim 8 , further comprising advertising that the virtual switch is equivalent to both the switch and the separate physical switch, thereby facilitating multi-path routing to or from a device coupled to both switches.
18. The method of claim 8 , wherein the switch is a router configurable to operate in accordance with the Internet Protocol (IP).
19. The method of claim 8 , wherein the switch is configurable to operate in accordance with the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) protocol.
20. A switch means, comprising:
a forwarding means for forwarding frames based on their Ethernet headers;
a control means for operating the switch in conjunction with a separate physical switch as a single logical switch and assigning a virtual switch identifier to the logical switch, wherein the virtual switch identifier is associated with a link aggregation group;
wherein the switch is a layer-2 switch capable of routing without requiring the network topology to be based on a spanning tree topology; and wherein the control means is further for deriving the virtual switch identifier based on an identifier for thr link aggregation group.
21. The switch means of claim 20 , wherein the virtual switch identifier is a virtual RBridge identifier in compliance with the Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol; and
wherein the link aggregation group is identified by a link aggregation group (LAG) identifier in accordance to the IEEE 802.1ax standard.
22. The switch means of claim 20 , wherein the switch is a router configurable to operate in accordance with the Internet Protocol (IP).
23. The switch means of claim 20 , wherein the switch is configurable to operate in accordance with the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) protocol.