Abstract: A network component including a receiver configured to receive a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for a plurality of hosts in a plurality of external Layer 2 networks located at a plurality of physical locations and interconnected via a service, a logic circuit configured to map the IP addresses of the hosts in the external Layer 2 networks to a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of a plurality of corresponding gateways in the same external Layer 2 networks, and a transmitter configured to send to the external Layer 2 networks a plurality of a plurality of IP addresses for a plurality of local hosts in a local Layer 2 network coupled to the external Layer 2 networks via the service.

Abstract: A method implemented by a network component is provided. The method includes receiving a Virtual Station Interface (VSI) Discovery Protocol (VDP) request from an Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) station and transmitting, to the EVB station, a VDP Response in response to the request. The VDP Response includes a VDP Type-Length-Value (TLV) having a Filter Information field. The Filter Information field is configured to specify a Priority Code Point (PCP) value associated with one or more Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Identifier (VID) values carried by the VDP Response. The PCP value is carried in a PCP field and adopted by the EVB station as a default PCP value associated with the VSI and at least one VID. The Filter Information field further contains a PCP Significant (PS) field associated with each PCP field, and wherein the PS field indicates whether the PCP field carries the PCP value.

Abstract: A network component including a receiver configured to receive a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for a plurality of hosts in a plurality of external Layer 2 networks located at a plurality of physical locations and interconnected via a service, a logic circuit configured to map the IP addresses of the hosts in the external Layer 2 networks to a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of a plurality of corresponding gateways in the same external Layer 2 networks, and a transmitter configured to send to the external Layer 2 networks a plurality of a plurality of IP addresses for a plurality of local hosts in a local Layer 2 network coupled to the external Layer 2 networks via the service.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising a service network and a plurality of Layer 2 networks at a plurality of different physical locations coupled to the service network via a plurality of edge nodes at the Layer 2 networks, wherein the edge nodes are configured to maintain a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of a plurality of hosts across the Layer 2 networks, and wherein the IP addresses of the hosts in each of the Layer 2 networks are mapped by the other Layer 2 networks to a Media Access Control (MAC) address of each of the edge nodes in the same Layer 2 networks of the hosts.

Abstract: An apparatus including a service network and a plurality of Layer 2 sites connected by the service network via a plurality of gateways is provided. The gateways are configured to map a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of a plurality of hosts under a plurality of virtual local area networks (VLANs) in a plurality of Layer 2 sites to a plurality of addresses (e.g., MAC or others) of the corresponding other gateways, inform the other gateways in other Layer 2 sites of the IP addresses mapped under each of the VLANs in the local Layer 2 sites, and forward data frames originated from the hosts in the local Layer 2 sites to the other gateways in the other Layer 2 sites when destinations of the data frames are residing in the other Layer 2 sites.

Abstract: A method implemented by a network component is provided. The method includes receiving a Virtual Station Interface (VSI) Discovery Protocol (VDP) request from an Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) station and transmitting, to the EVB station, a VDP Response in response to the request. The VDP Response includes a VDP Type-Length-Value (TLV) having a Filter Information field. The Filter Information field is configured to specify a Priority Code Point (PCP) value associated with one or more Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Identifier (VID) values carried by the VDP Response. The PCP value is carried in a PCP field and adopted by the EVB station as a default PCP value associated with the VSI and at least one VID. The Filter Information field further contains a PCP Significant (PS) field associated with each PCP field, and wherein the PS field indicates whether the PCP field carries the PCP value.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising a service network, and a plurality of Layer 2 sites connected by the service network via a plurality of gateways, wherein the gateways are configured to map a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of a plurality of hosts under a plurality of virtual local area networks (VLANs) in a plurality of Layer 2 sites to a plurality of addresses (e.g. MAC or others) of the corresponding gateways inform the other gateways in the other Layer 2 sites of the mapped IP addresses under each of the VLANs in the local Layer 2 sites, and forward data frames originated from the hosts in the local Layer 2 sites to the other gateways in the other Layer 2 sites when the data frames' destinations are residing in the other Layer 2 sites.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising an Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) bridge coupled with an EVB station wherein the EVB bridge is configured to communicate to the EVB station a Filter Information (Info) field of a virtual station interface (VSI) discovery and configuration protocol (VDP) Associate Response message, and wherein the Filter Info field specifies a default Priority Code Point (PCP) value associated with at least one or all of a plurality of VID values carried by that VDP TLV Response.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising an Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) bridge coupled with an EVB station wherein the EVB bridge is configured to communicate to the EVB station a Filter Information (Info) field of a virtual station interface (VSI) discovery and configuration protocol (VDP) Associate Response message, and wherein the Filter Info field specifies a default Priority Code Point (PCP) value associated with at least one or all of a plurality of VID values carried by that VDP TLV Response.

Abstract: A network component, comprising a memory unit comprising a filtering database (FDB), wherein the FDB comprises a medium access control (MAC) address and a Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN) Identifier (VID) pair for each of a plurality of end-stations associated with an edge-district partition of a network, wherein the edge-district partition is associated with the network component, and wherein the FDB comprises a wildcard FDB entry corresponding to each VLAN associated with the network component, and a logic unit coupled to the ingress ports and the egress ports, wherein the logic unit is configured to reduce flooding in the edge-district partition of the network; wherein the logic unit is configured to forward a received frame, having a destination MAC address and a VID for which there is not an exact match in the FDB, towards a core-bridge without flooding based on the wildcard entry in the FDB.

Abstract: A communications network component comprising a processor configured to implement a method comprising sending a fault message including degradation data, wherein the degradation data indicates a bandwidth reduction associated with a partial fault is disclosed. Also disclosed is a method comprising receiving a fault message comprising degradation data associated with a fault, determining whether an available bandwidth is less than a bandwidth reserved for a plurality of connections associated with the fault, and modifying the bandwidth reserved for the connections if the available bandwidth is less than the bandwidth reserved for the connection.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising an edge virtual bridging (EVB) bridge, and an EVB station coupled to the EVB bridge, wherein the EVB station is configured to send to the EVB bridge a virtual station interface (VSI) discovery and configuration protocol (VDP) request comprising a filter information (info) field without specifying a virtual local area network (VLAN) identifier (ID), and wherein the EVB bridge is configured to send a VLAN ID (VID) to the EVB station in a second filter info field in a VDP response to the VDP request.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising an edge virtual bridging (EVB) bridge, and an EVB station coupled to the EVB bridge, wherein the EVB station is configured to send to the EVB bridge a virtual station interface (VSI) discovery and configuration protocol (VDP) request comprising a filter information (info) field without specifying a virtual local area network (VLAN) identifier (ID), and wherein the EVB bridge is configured to send a VLAN ID (VID) to the EVB station in a second filter info field in a VDP response to the VDP request.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising a first interface configured to transmit or receive backbone traffic, a second interface configured to transmit or receive non-backbone traffic, and a third interface in communication with the first interface and second interface, the third interface configured to multiplex or demultiplex the backbone traffic and the non-backbone traffic is disclosed, wherein the backbone traffic is traffic that will be, is, or has been B-tagged. Also disclosed is a node comprising a processor configured to implement a method comprising receiving a first data stream comprising backbone traffic, receiving a second data stream comprising non-backbone traffic, and multiplexing the first data stream with the second data stream.

Abstract: A system comprising a backbone core bridge (BCB) in a provider backbone bridged network (PBBN), and a backbone edge bridge (BEB) coupled to the BCB via a provider network port (PNP) and to a customer bridge in a customer bridged network via a C-tagged service interface, wherein the C-tagged service interface maps a service instance from the customer bridged network that is identified by a customer-virtual local area network identifier (C-VID) to a backbone service instance on the PBBN that is identified by a service instance identifier (I-SID).

Abstract: A method comprising receiving a data frame, encapsulating the received data frame into a reflected frame message (RFM) encapsulated frame, and if the received data frame causes the RFM encapsulated frame to exceed a maximum service data unit size, either the data frame is truncated or the data frame is split into two smaller frames and those two smaller frames are encapsulated by two separate RFM frames, wherein if a truncation flag is set to true, the data frame is truncated and the truncated data frame is encapsulated in one RFM.

Abstract: A network comprising a first layer processor (LP) configured to distribute a plurality of component communications to a plurality of component connections using a distribution table comprising a plurality of component communication identifiers (CCIDs) and the component connection associated with each CCID, a second LP configured to collect the packets from the component connections, and a composite connection coupled to the first LP and the second LP, wherein the composite connection comprises a plurality of the component connections and is configured to transport the component communications using the component connections, and wherein the distribution table and composite connection are configured such that component communications associated with at least the same CCID of a component communication takes the same path from the first LP to the second LP as from the second LP to the first LP.

Abstract: A packet communications network that transports a plurality of traffic over a plurality of server transport paths from a source to a destination, the network comprising: using a load distribution method to distribute each instance of traffic to an individual transport path, thereby avoiding reordering at the destination; enabling all the transport paths to carry the traffic; allowing the network to provision a preferred traffic distribution through a policy setting; and redistributing the traffic when a condition on one of the transport paths changes. Also disclosed is a composite transport group component comprising: a processor configured to implement a method comprising: receiving a server trail failure notification message; and performing a dynamic redistribution of traffic over a plurality of server trails, thereby transporting substantially all of the traffic associated with a class of traffic transported over the server trail associated with the server trail failure notification message.

Abstract: A network comprising a switch configured to learn a source address (SA) for a source node with a source port that receives a frame comprising the SA if the SA is not previously learned on another port and to subsequently forward any frame comprising a destination address (DA) for a destination node that matches the learned SA on the source port associated with the SA. A network comprising a switch configured to flood a frame received on a receiving port if the frame comprises a DA that is not previously learned on a source port and to distinguish the flooded frame from other forwarded frames by labeling the flooded frame, wherein the frame is flooded on a plurality of ports. A method comprising disabling a plurality of filtering database (FDB) entries that correspond to a plurality of addresses that are associated with a port, and sending the addresses in a control frame.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising a processor configured to implement a method comprising receiving a first data structure comprising a first virtual local area network identifier (VID) and a first forwarding type, comparing the first VID and a first forwarding type with a second VID and a second forwarding type in a second data structure, and reporting a misprovisioned data structure if the first VID is the same as the second VID and the first forwarding type is not the same as the second forwarding type. Also disclosed is a method comprising implementing a network protocol to forward provisioning information in a plurality of VID Tables corresponding to a plurality of nodes, and analyzing the provisioning information to detect misprovisioned nodes.