PACKET RELAY METHOD FOR HYBRID NETWORK OF RELAY EQUIPMENT DIFFERENT IN TYPE AND RELAY EQUIPMENT

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain the relay of a specific protocol in a hybrid network of relay equipment different in types by sending additionally the information requiring the capsulation and sending a specific protocol packet into a general-purpose protocol packet after capsulating it if an equipment corresponding to the specific protocol exists at the next to an adjacent relay device in regard to a route, where this adjacent relay device is not corresponding to the specific protocol. SOLUTION: Every relay equipment 1A corresponding to a specific protocol decides whether its adjacent relay device corresponds to the specific protocol for each prescribed packet transfer route when it incorporated into a communication network 3 or the route information is changed. With regard to a route where an adjacent device is a relay device 2 that is not corresponding to the specific protocol, the presence of the relay equipment corresponding to the specific protocol is confirmed at the next to the adjacent relay device. If the equipment 1A is confirmed, the information showing the necessity of encapsulation is additionally recorded on the packet transfer route. Then a specific protocol packet is capsulated and sent into a general-purpose protocol packet.