Traffic control method, apparatus, and system

A manager server connecting to a plurality of packet forwarding apparatuses each of which includes a plurality of ports, comprising:

• a topology information storage for storing connective relation information of the plural ports of the plural packet forwarding apparatuses;
• a flow information receiving section for receiving flow information identifying traffic flow and output port information indicating an output port, from the plural packet forwarding apparatuses;
• and
• a flow end point searching section for searching for an end point of a traffic flow according to the output port information and the flow information received by the flow information receiving section and the connective relation information of the plural ports stored in the topology information storage.

A manager server connecting to a plurality of packet forwarding apparatuses each of which includes a plurality of ports, comprising:

• a topology information storage for storing connective relation information of the plural ports of the plural packet forwarding apparatuses;
• a flow information receiving section for receiving flow information identifying traffic flow and input/output port information indicating an input port or an output port, from the plural packet forwarding apparatuses;
• and
• a flow display section for displaying for each flow information a flow in which at least three packet forwarding apparatuses are connected to each other, according to the flow information and input/output port information received by the flow information receiving section and the connective relation information of the plural ports stored in the topology information storage.

A manager server connecting to a plurality of packet forwarding apparatuses each of which includes a plurality of ports, comprising:

• a topology information storage for storing connective relation information of the plural ports of the plural packet forwarding apparatuses;
• a flow information receiving section for receiving flow information identifying traffic flow and input port information indicating an input port, from the plural packet forwarding apparatuses;
• and
• a loop detecting section for searching the connective relation information for a second port matching first input port information corresponding to first flow information received from a first packet forwarding apparatus by the flow information receiving section, searching the connective relation information for a fourth port matching third input port information corresponding to the first flow information received from a second packet forwarding apparatus as a connection destination of the second port, searching the connective relation information for a sixth port matching fifth input port information corresponding to the first flow information received from a third packet forwarding apparatus as a connection destination of the fourth port, and determining that a loop has been formed if a connection destination of the sixth port is the first or second packet forwarding apparatus.