Abstract: The method for avoiding a loop when forwarding a message from a first participant of a first LAN to a participant of a second LAN via several forwarding servers of a wide area network (WAN) comprises the steps of: including each time an identifying address of the sending forwarding server in the message by the receiving forwarding server, and keeping each identifying address in the message. The message is in particular an RTPS message including an InfoSource submessage, and each added identifying address is stored in the InfoSource submessage.

Abstract: The communications device comprises one or several participants communicating with each other and with participants of other devices of a network via endpoints, wherein the communications device comprises a central discovery handler storing discovery information of the participants in a memory for providing a central discovery for the participants of the network, and when the central discovery handler detects a match between an endpoint of a first participant and an endpoint of a second participant, then the central discovery handler informs the first and the second participant about the match.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for routing data packets in a routing device connecting a first network and a second network, and to a corresponding routing device. The method comprises the steps of receiving a frame from a device connected to the first network; forwarding the frame to an internal bridge module of the device; checking whether the frame contains a multicast group management message and in the affirmative, creating a new frame comprising as destination address the destination address of an internal multicast group management module and as payload at least the multicast management data of the received frame; and forwarding this new frame to the internal bridge function.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for routing data packets in a routing device connecting a first network and a second network, and to a corresponding routing device. The method comprises the steps of receiving a frame from a device connected to the first network; forwarding the frame to an internal bridge module of the device; checking whether the frame contains a multicast group management message and in the affirmative, creating a new frame comprising as destination address the destination address of an internal multicast group management module and as payload at least the multicast management data of the received frame; and forwarding this new frame to the internal bridge function.