| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080215899 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NEGOTIATING POWER BETWEEN POWER SOURCING EQUIPMENT AND POWERABLE DEVICES - The present invention provides a power negotiation protocol that enables PDs and PSEs to negotiate the amount of inline power that a PD consumes and the corresponding PSE provides. This power negotiation allows the PDs provide fine-grained power consumption level to PSEs, and the PSEs are able to manage inline power efficiently using the negotiation protocol of the present invention. The PDs can ask the PSEs for more power when needed rather than having to constantly reserve the maximum amount of power they can consume at all times. Similarly, the PDs can release reservation of excess power when their respective power requirements decrease. The PSEs can limit the amount of power that can be consumed by the PD, thereby providing the ability for an administrator to control how much power a given PD can consume. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080215902 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NEGOTIATING POWER BETWEEN POWER SOURCING EQUIPMENT AND POWERABLE DEVICES - The present invention provides a power negotiation protocol that enables PDs and PSEs to negotiate the amount of inline power that a PD consumes and the corresponding PSE provides. This power negotiation allows the PDs provide fine-grained power consumption level to PSEs, and the PSEs are able to manage inline power efficiently using the negotiation protocol of the present invention. The PDs can ask the PSEs for more power when needed rather than having to constantly reserve the maximum amount of power they can consume at all times. Similarly, the PDs can release reservation of excess power when their respective power requirements decrease. The PSEs can limit the amount of power that can be consumed by the PD, thereby providing the ability for an administrator to control how much power a given PD can consume. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20090049175 | STREAM RESERVATION PROTOCOL FOR BRIDGED NETWORKS - In one embodiment, a talker device may issue talker registrations to bridges of a network domain for a stream, the talker registration having at least a bandwidth requirement and a state of the talker registration as either offering or failed. Also, a listener device may issue listener registrations for a stream, the listener registration having at least a state of the listener registration as one of asking, asking-failed, ready, or ready-failed. In response to receiving a talker registration and listener registration for the same stream, a bridge of the network domain may then attempt to allocate resources for the stream if the bridge is on a path of the stream between the talker device and the listener device. The bridge may then notify, via respective states of the talker and listener registrations, the talker device and the listener device of whether resources have been allocated for the stream. | 02-19-2009 |
| 20090190503 | EFFICIENT END-TO-END PROPOSAL/AGREEMENT MESSAGING FOR SPANNING TREE CONVERGENCE IN A COMPUTER NETWORK - In one embodiment, a bridge may receive a first convergence proposal on a root port from an upstream adjacent bridge of a computer network, and in response, may transmit a second convergence proposal downstream on each non-edge designated port of the bridge without syncing the non-edge designated ports. The bridge may then return a convergence agreement to the adjacent bridge in response to the non-edge designated ports having received a returned convergence agreement (or in response to having only edge designated ports). Also, according to embodiments, the adjacent bridge blocks a link to the root port until the convergence proposal(s) and agreement(s) travel end-to-end. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090190504 | Multiple I-service registration protocol (MIRP) - In one embodiment, a method associated with a multiple I-service registration protocol (MIRP) includes receiving into an 802.1ah I-component an MVRP TCN from an 802.1ad component. The TCN may be received, for example, from an 802.1ad bridge. The TCN may identify an affected service using an S-VID. Therefore, the example method may include identifying the S-VID specified by the TCN. The method may also include identifying I-SIDs related to the S-VID. The I-SIDs may be identified by consulting an S-VID to I-SID translation table associated with the 802.1ah I-component. The method may also include providing an 802.1ah MIRP PDU to another 802.1ah component. The MIRP PDU may be based on the MVRP TCN and on the I-SID. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090190515 | BRIDGING WIRELESS AND WIRED MEDIA IN A COMPUTER NETWORK - In one embodiment, a transmitting node may be configured to transmit a wireless advertisement frame over a computer network, wherein the frame includes a source address of a reachable node being advertised, a destination address to which the reachable node is to be advertised, a transmitter address of the transmitting node, and a receiver address of a wireless access point to which the wireless advertisement frame is to be received. Also, the wireless access point may be configured to receive the wireless advertisement frame from the network, and in response, transmit a reflected wireless advertisement frame having the source address of the reachable node, the destination address to which the reachable node is to be advertised, a transmitter address of the access point, and a receiver address that indicates the reflected frame is to be accepted by any appropriate receiver excluding the transmitting node. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090190613 | SUPPORTING EFFICIENT AND ACCURATE SYNC/FOLLOWUP TIMESTAMPS - In one embodiment, a physical (PHY) layer (lower protocol stack layer) of a device may add a timestamp to a received frame, and pass the frame and timestamp up the protocol stack toward a synchronization (sync) recognition layer (upper protocol stack layer). The sync recognition layer determines whether the frame relates to synchronization, and if so, places the timestamp into a data structure along with a frame association for recovery by followup processing. Conversely, in another embodiment, the sync recognition layer may add to a frame for transmission a frame ID having an indication of whether to timestamp the frame and may pass the frame and frame ID down the protocol stack toward the PHY layer. The PHY layer determines whether the frame ID indicates that the frame is to be timestamped, and if so, places a timestamp corresponding to frame transmission into a data structure with the frame ID. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20100085899 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING SYMMETRICAL SPANNING TREES - In one embodiment, a network device receives on a first port a first spanning tree protocol (STP) control message including a first path-tracking field corresponding to a given spanning tree instance in a network. The first path-tracking field includes a value based on one or more other network devices that have propagated the first STP control message. The network device receives on a second port a second STP control message including a second path-tracking field corresponding to the given spanning tree instance. The second path-tracking field includes a value based on one or more other network devices that have propagated the second STP control message. The network device utilizes the values from the first path-tracking field and the second path-tracking field to select a root port for the given spanning tree instance. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100146324 | Method and apparatus for fault detection/isolation in metro ethernet service - Apparatus and method of detecting a fault in a network service includes an Ethernet access network domain in which a heartbeat message is broadcast at a periodic interval by each of a plurality of edge devices associated with an instance of the network service. Each of the edge devices also receives the heartbeat messages broadcast at the periodic interval from other edge devices. A fault occurrence is identified when the edge device fails to receive an expected heartbeat message at the periodic interval from one of the other edge devices. | 06-10-2010 |
| 20100180322 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FLOATING PORT CONFIGURATION - A system and method automatically configures the interfaces of an intermediate network device. A discovery process operating at the device detects the identity or type of network entities actually coupled to the device's interfaces. Utilizing the identity or type of detected entities, a look-up is performed to obtain a configuration macro specially defined for each detected network entity. The retrieved configuration macros are executed and applied at the respective interfaces. During operation, the intermediate network device continues to monitor the identity and type of entities actually coupled to its interfaces. If a change is detected, such as an entity moving from a first to a second interface, the specially defined configuration macro for that entity floats from the first to the second interface where it is executed and applied. | 07-15-2010 |
| 20100220631 | Method for Bring-Up of Voice Over Internet Protocol Telephones - A system and method for implementing telephony devices in a distributed network environment is disclosed. The present invention provides for voice transmissions to be given a dedicated virtual local area network (“VLAN”) for packet transmission and reception to prevent poor quality of service. Non-voice data packets are transmitted on a separate VLAN. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100220730 | EFFICIENT PRUNING OF VIRTUAL SERVICES IN BRIDGED COMPUTER NETWORKS - In one embodiment, a bridge in a computer network may execute a spanning tree protocol (STP) for network topology and a registration protocol for traffic control of virtual connections (e.g., EVCs) at the bridge. For any gateway ports of the bridge inter-connected with a provider network, the bridge may generate “fake” received registration protocol join messages for a particular virtual connection at the gateway port. The bridge may then either i) propagate the join messages, in response to the gateway port being in a forwarding state according to the STP, on other forwarding ports of the bridge, or ii) in response to the gateway port not being in a forwarding state, block propagation of the join messages to other ports of the bridge. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100220737 | MULTIPLE SPANNING TREE EXTENSIONS FOR TRUNK PORTS CARRYING MORE THAN 4K VIRTUAL SERVICES - In one embodiment, bridges in a computer network maintain a per-port mapping table for each of its ports, where each mapping table maps, for each virtual connection (of more than 4K) at a respective port, i) frame encapsulation fields that uniquely identify a particular virtual connection at the respective port to ii) a particular multiple spanning tree (MST) instance. The bridges may then compute a checksum of a particular mapping table for a particular port, and share the checksum with a corresponding port interconnected with the particular port (e.g., of another bridge). Upon determining that the mapping tables at the corresponding ports match in response to the checksums matching, frames may then be forwarded between the ports based on the particular mapping table. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100223657 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INCLUDING NETWORK SECURITY INFORMATION IN A FRAME - A method and apparatus for including network security information in a frame is disclosed. Network security information is included in a secure portion of overhead of a frame. The network security information is configured to facilitate network security. A network device configured to process a frame is also disclosed. The frame includes frame security information and network security information. The frame security information is configured to facilitate securing a portion of overhead of the frame, and the network security information is located in the secure portion of the overhead of the frame and is configured to facilitate network security. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20110022698 | DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT OF MAINTENANCE ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP IN A COMPUTER NETWORK - In one embodiment, a new maintenance end-point (MEP) may join a particular network (and initiate its sending of continuity check messages, “CCMs”) by transmitting one or more join announcement messages (JAMs). When the JAMs are received by remote MEPs in the particular network, the new MEP may be added to a configured list of MEPs within the particular network at each remote MEP without an alarm. Also, a current MEP may leave the particular network (and cease its transmission of CCMs) by transmitting one or more leave announcement messages (LAMs), which request removal of the current MEP from the configured list at each of the remote MEPs without alarms. Otherwise, transmission of CCMs (that are not JAMs or LAMs) may result in alarms being generated by the MEPs in the particular network for unexpected MEPs or missing MEPs, accordingly. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110128892 | AVOIDING HIGH-SPEED NETWORK PARTITIONS IN FAVOR OF LOW-SPEED LINKS - In one embodiment, each network interface of a network device in a computer network may be classified as either a low-speed interface (e.g., wireless) or a high-speed interface (e.g., wired). Illustratively, then, low-speed interfaces may be configured (identified) as external interfaces to external links and high-speed interfaces may be configured (identified) as internal interfaces to internal links. By executing a multiple spanning tree (MST) protocol at the network device with other network devices in the computer network, network devices interconnected with internal links are in a same MST region and internal links within an MST region are preferred over external links between MST regions. | 06-02-2011 |
