Emulating circuit switching in ethernet using an ethernet circuit header

A device for emulating circuit switching in Ethernet using an Ethernet circuit header (ECH), the device comprising:

• a node of a network configured to receive a packet;
• a control module configured to determine that a destination address portion of a data frame associated with the packet matches a predefined format;
• a parser module configured to parse an ECH portion of the destination address to identify a circuit-identification (ID);
• a look-up module configured to look up the circuit ID in a circuit-ID table using at least one of a plurality of key options to generate a look-up-result data;
• and
• the control module configured to use the look-up-result data to direct the packet to a destination interface of a destination node.

A system for emulating circuit switching in Ethernet using an Ethernet circuit header (ECH), the system comprising:

• memory configured to store one or more program modules;
• one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to execute the one or more program modules to perform:
• receiving, at a node of a network, a packet;
• determining that a destination address portion of a data frame associated with the packet matches a predefined format;
• parsing an ECH portion of the destination address to identify a circuit identification (ID);
• looking up the circuit ID in a circuit-ID table using at least one of a plurality of key options to generate a look-up-result data;
• and
• using the look-up-result data to direct the packet to a destination interface of a destination node.