Layer-3 services for united router farm

A computer-executable method, comprising:

• operating a computing system in conjunction with a plurality of remote switches as a single logical switch;
• calculating one or more layer-2 shortest paths among the computing system and the remote switches;
• creating a layer-2 forwarding table for a first switch in the plurality of remote switches based on the one or more shortest paths, wherein a respective entry in the forwarding table corresponds to a layer-2 network address;
• and
• suppressing advertisement of the shortest paths outside of the logical switch, thereby hiding internal paths of the logical switch.

A switch, comprising:

• a configuration management mechanism to configure the switch based on received configuration information from a remote system, thereby allowing the remote system to control the switch;
• a logical switch management mechanism configured to operate the switch in conjunction with a plurality of remote switches as a single logical switch based on the received configuration information;
• and
• a data management mechanism configured to:
• receive a layer-2 forwarding table from the remote system, wherein a respective entry in the forwarding table corresponds to a layer-2 network address;
• and
• suppress advertisement of the forwarding table outside of the logical switch, thereby hiding internal forwarding of the logical switch.