Switching apparatus and method for setting up virtual lan

A switching apparatus having a plurality of switches and a plurality of ports, comprising:

• a selector to transfer an input packet to a first switch determined in accordance with a first virtual path identifier assigned to the input packet input through a first port;
• a first converter, provided between the selector and the first switch, to convert the first virtual path identifier assigned to the input packet into an internal identifier that corresponds to a combination of the first port and the first virtual path identifier;
• and
• a second converter, provided between the first switch and a second port, to convert the internal identifier assigned to an output packet output from the first switch to the second port into a second virtual path identifier that corresponds to a combination of the second port and the internal identifier.

A switching apparatus, comprising:

• a plurality of ports;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory to store an output port identifier for a combination of an input port identifier, an input virtual path identifier, and a destination address, wherein:
• the processor detects a first input virtual path identifier and a first destination address assigned to an input packet;
• the processor obtains a first output port identifier from the memory based on a first input port identifier that identifies a port to which the input packet has been input, the first input virtual path identifier, and the first destination address;
• and
• the processor transfers the input packet to a port identified by the first output port identifier.

A method for setting up a virtual LAN, comprising:

• generating topology information representing a network topology;
• generating virtual LAN information that identifies a terminal that belongs to the virtual LAN;
• determining lines used for setting up the virtual LAN based on the topology information and the virtual LAN information;
• assigning a first virtual path identifier and a second virtual path identifier to a first line and a second line among the determined lines, respectively, in a switching apparatus to which the first line and the second line are connected;
• and
• generating switch information including a second port identifier that identifies a port to which the second line is connected and the second virtual path identifier for a combination of a first port identifier that identifies a port to which the first line is connected, the first virtual path identifier, and a destination address.