DATA FRAME ROUTING METHOD AND NETWORK BRIDGE

摘要

The invention relates to a method that operates at the data link level. During a guard period, each bridge associates the port which first receives a frame having a source MAC address until a unicast response frame confirms a matching two-way path between the source and destination addresses. Any other frame from the same source that is received through a different port is discarded. Each bridge forwards the received broadcast frames through the rest of the ports, except those that involve forbidden rotations (up/down), and diverts (or optionally returns) the unicast frames having an unknown or expired destination address through the spanning tree. The protocol can operate with encapsulation at the border bridges or without encapsulation, in the latter case replacing the universal MAC addresses at the border bridges with local MAC addresses. Optionally, paths can be established and controlled proactively by the border bridges, particularly the bridges connected to the servers.