Network packet transmission mechanism

US 7,778,259 B1
Filed: 06/11/2004
Issued: 08/17/2010
Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1999
Status: Expired due to Fees

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1. A network for transporting packets of data comprising:

a plurality of interconnected routing switches each having one or more unique transport identification which reflects network topology;

each routing switch performing a different function based on said routing switch operating as an entry, exit, pass-through, or intermediate routing switch;

wherein said entry routing switch functions to embed destination transport identification in each data packet; and

wherein said intermediate routing switch is operable for comparing said destination identification with the routing switch unique transport identification and forwarding said packet of data based on said comparison without performing a table look-up.

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Abstract

An architecture, system and method are provided for efficiently transferring packets of data across a communication network. Portions of the communication network is structured such that there are hierarchical levels of high speed Routing Switches existing throughout the network. Distributed routing of packets is achieved by comparing identification numbers of Routing Switches with the destination address of a data packet. Once routing is achieved within the transport ID based network, transfer to a destination termination device occurs through a single look-up table only when departing the network. The routing operation between termination devices can therefore be achieved using a single mapping operation and is backward compatible with devices external to the network and protocols used by those devices. Each Routing Switch thereby serves as a traffic manager, having registers that are configured so as to allow the traffic manager to direct packets of data from an input port to an output port in the quickest, most efficient manner without having to decode the entire destination address or requiring time-consumptive routing tables.

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32 Claims

1. A network for transporting packets of data comprising:
- a plurality of interconnected routing switches each having one or more unique transport identification which reflects network topology;
  
  each routing switch performing a different function based on said routing switch operating as an entry, exit, pass-through, or intermediate routing switch;
  
  wherein said entry routing switch functions to embed destination transport identification in each data packet; and
  
  wherein said intermediate routing switch is operable for comparing said destination identification with the routing switch unique transport identification and forwarding said packet of data based on said comparison without performing a table look-up.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- - 2. The network as recited in claim 1, wherein the said destination identifications are independent of MAC and IP data communications protocol.
  - 3. The network as recited in claim 1, wherein the transport identification is assigned based on the position within the network of the respective routing switches.
  - 4. The network as recited in claim 1, wherein each routing switch has a set of bits within a first grouping of bits that is different from a set of bits also within the first grouping of bits representing another routing switch.
  - 5. The network as recited in claim 1, said transport identification having divided into several groupings of bits, wherein a first grouping of said several groupings of bits identifies a first level for receiving data of the network prior to a second grouping of said several groupings of bits identifying a second level for receiving the data from the first routing switch.
  - 6. The network as recited in claim 1, the routing switches being aggregated into two or more groups of routing switches, said transport ID being indicative of the particular group where the routing switch is a member.
  - 7. The network as recited in claim 6, the groups being aggregated based on the topology of the network.
  - 8. The network as recited in claim 7, the network topology being selected from:
    - mesh, ring, linear, or hierarchical topology.

9. A method of transporting data packets across a network comprising:
- embedding a destination transport identification to a data packet when the data packet enters the network;
  
  connecting a plurality of routing switches within the network with the routing switches grouped into two or more groups within the network based on network topology;
  
  assigning a unique transport identification number to each routing switch indicative, at least in part, of the network topology;
  
  comparing the destination transport identification of a packet with the transport identification of a routing switch; and
  
  forwarding the data packet through the network based on said comparison of destination transport identification.
- View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- - 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the embedded destination identification is independent of a communication protocol of the network.
  - 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the network operates as a subnet within a large network.
  - 12. The method of claim 9, including an initial routing switch for receiving the data packet, reading the intended destination of the data packet, and embedding the destination identification.
  - 13. The method of claim 9, including a termination routing switch performing the substeps of stripping the transport destination identification from the data packet and passing the data packet to another network or termination device.
  - 14. The method of claim 9, wherein at least several groups comprise topological levels and each level includes one or more nodes of one or more routing switches connected for transporting data packets between nodes.

15. A communication network, comprising:
- first and second sets of routing switches wherein the first set of routing switches receives data traversing the network having network topology-based transport identification before the second set of routing switches receives the data;
  
  a unique transport identification number in memory attributed to each of the routing switches, wherein each of said transport identification numbers contains network topology information, said transport identification numbers being divided into a first and second field of bits which identify respective said first and second sets of routing switches;
  
  one or more decoders within the first set of routing switches operable to compare a portion of the destination network topology-based transport identification of said data with said first field to determine next hop routing for said data; and
  
  one or more decoders within the second set of routing switches operable to compare the destination network topology-based transport identification of said data with said second field after a first set decoder has compared the network topology-based transport identification with said first field.
- View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
- - 16. The communication network as recited in claim 15, wherein a first set decoder compares the destination network to topology-based transport identification of said data with said first field to determine routing of said data to said second set of routing switches.
  - 17. The communication network as recited in claim 15, wherein the first set comprises a first hierarchical level and the second set comprises a second hierarchical level different than the first hierarchical level.
  - 18. The communication network as recited in claim 15, wherein the first set of routing switches are connected to at least one loop dissimilar from at least another loop onto which the second set of routing switches are connected.
  - 19. The communication network as recited in claim 15, wherein the first set of routing switches are connected within a first set of loops that are associated with a first set of network nodes, each of the interconnected first set of network nodes being configured within a first hierarchical level.
  - 20. The communication network as recited in claim 19, wherein the second set of routing switches are connected within a second set of loops that are associated with a second set of network nodes, each of the interconnected second set of nodes being configured within a second hierarchical level.
  - 21. The communication network as recited in claim 20, wherein at least one network branch is coupled by a routing switch within the first set of routing switches and a routing switch within the second set of routing switches for coupling the first set of network nodes to the second set of network nodes to provide a selectable routing path.
  - 22. The communication network as recited in claim 21, wherein the network nodes extend between terminating devices and form data flow paths therebetween.
  - 23. The communication network as recited in claim 21, wherein the first set of network nodes and associated first set of routing switches serve to route data flow across the data flow paths targeted for a hierarchical level dissimilar than the first hierarchical level containing the first set of network nodes, and wherein the second set of network nodes and associated second set of routing switches serve to route data flow across the data flow paths targeted for a hierarchical level dissimilar from the second hierarchical level.

24. A method of structuring an unstructured network comprising:
- providing a plurality of routing switches within the network, each having at least one transport ID, wherein the transport ID is a unique number that is independent of MAC and IP network addressing schemes and is based, in part, on network topology;
  
  grouping the routing switches into groups based on hierarchical position within the network;
  
  determining the destination transport ID of a routing switch having an attached destination device;
  
  attaching said destination transport ID to each packet directed to said destination device; and
  
  passing data packets over the network, including the step of forwarding the data packets to said destination device based on comparison of said destination transport ID with said transport ID of said routing switch.
- View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
- - 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the position of a group is based on the physical relationship between routing switches.
  - 26. The method of claim 24, wherein the position of a group is based on the logical relationship between routing switches.
  - 27. The method of claim 24, wherein the grouping is independent of network topology.
  - 28. The method of claim 24, wherein the grouping is based on the network topology.

29. A network for transporting packets of data, each having a destination identification, comprising:
- a plurality of interconnected routing switches each having at least one assigned unique transport identification;
  
  the transport identification reflecting the structure and topology of the network;
  
  wherein said transport identification assigned to a routing switch is indicative of the position of the routing switch in the network; and
  
  said routing switches being operable for comparing a data packet destination identification with the routing switch transport identification and operable for forwarding said data packet based on said comparison without requiring a table lookup.
- View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
- - 30. The network as recited in claim 29, wherein said destination identification includes a transport identification embedded upon entry of a packet into the network independent of MAC and IP data communications addressing.
  - 31. The network as recited in claim 29, the routing switches being aggregated into two or more groups of routing switches, said routing switches transport identification being indicative of the particular group where the routing switch is a member.
  - 32. The network as recited in claim 31, the groups being aggregated based on the topology of the network.

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Current Assignee
RPX Corporation
Original Assignee
Dunti, LLC
Inventors
Mahalingaiah, Rupaka
Primary Examiner(s)
Patel, Jayanti K
Assistant Examiner(s)
Houshmand, Hooman

Application Number

US10/866,358
Time in Patent Office

2,258 Days
Field of Search

None
US Class Current

370/401
CPC Class Codes

H04L 12/462   LAN interconnection over a ...

H04L 45/00   Routing or path finding of ...

H04L 45/04   Interdomain routing, e.g. h...

H04L 61/103   across network layers, e.g....

Network packet transmission mechanism

First Claim

4 Assignments

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Abstract

83 Citations

32 Claims

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Network packet transmission mechanism

First Claim

4 Assignments

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Abstract

83 Citations

32 Claims

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