General User Network Interface (UNI) Multi-homing Techniques For Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) Networks

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable code thereon for providing multipoint switch clusters, the medium including instructions in which a computer system performs operations comprising:

• determining, for multicast packets within a transport network, a set of User Network Interface (UNI) nodes that receive the multicast packets based on Backbone Media Access Control-Destination Address (BMAC-DA)/I-Tag Service Identifier (I-SID) of received multicast packets;
• determining a separate Egress Port Mask for each Backbone-Virtual Local Area Network (B-VLAN) of said transport network, wherein said Egress Port Mask is determined such that only one UNI node of said set of UNI nodes forwards said multicast packets;
• filtering out a set of UNI copies of said multicast packets by applying said Egress Port Mask wherein copies that are not in said Egress Port Mask are dropped;
• and
• sending out copies of multicast packets that are not dropped.

A computer system comprising:

• a plurality of User Network Interface (UNI) nodes, each UNI node including:
• a memory;
• a processor;
• a communications interface;
• an interconnection mechanism coupling the memory, the processor and the communications interface;
• and
• wherein the memory is encoded with an application providing multipoint switch clusters, that when performed on the processor, provides a process for processing information, the process causing the computer system to perform the operations of:
• determining, for multicast packets within a transport network, a set of UNI nodes that receive the multicast packets based on Backbone Media Access Control-Destination Address (BMAC-DA)/I-Tag Service Identifier (I-SID) of received multicast packets;
• determining a separate Egress Port Mask for each Backbone-Virtual Local Area Network (B-VLAN) of said transport network, wherein said Egress Port Mask is determined such that only one UNI node of said set of UNI nodes forwards said multicast packets;
• filtering out a set of UNI copies of said multicast packets by applying said Egress Port Mask wherein copies that are not in said Egress Port Mask are dropped;
• and
• sending out copies of multicast packets that are not dropped.