SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC DISTRIBUTED COMMUNICATION

摘要

Growth of a distributed communication system (20) is facilitated through dynamic addition of distribution elements (22, 40, 50). A new element may be added to a network of elements by first establishing a connection (42, 44, 46, 48) between the new element and an existing element in the network. At least one address (322, 324) is assigned to the new element from a pool of addresses (310, 312) maintained at the existing element. At least one pool of addresses (326, 328) is issued to the new element, permitting the new element to dynamically add another new element. Information packets are routed through the network by determining a forwarding equivalency class (FEC) (400) for each subscriber unit (26) accessing the network. The FEC to which each subscriber unit belongs is based on the point (22) at which the subscriber unit accesses the network. Information packets are routed from a distribution element (40, 50) by determining the next element (22, 40, 50) based on the FEC for the destination subscriber unit.