Method and apparatus for communicating data across multiple communication links

A method of identifying matching endpoint identifiers in a network device, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a message to identify a bundle head associated with an endpoint identifier;
• calculating an arithmetic sum associated with the endpoint identifier contained in the received message;
• determining whether the calculated arithmetic sum matches an arithmetic sum in a table contained in the network device;
• and
• determining whether the endpoint identifier matches an endpoint identifier contained in the table if the calculated arithmetic sum matches an arithmetic sum contained in the table.

An apparatus for discovering a bundle head in response to a request to establish a multilink connection, the apparatus comprising:

• an endpoint identification mechanism configured to determine an endpoint identifier associated with the received connection request;
• a message generator coupled to the endpoint identification mechanism, wherein the message generator is configured to generate a message to identify other devices servicing the same endpoint identifier;
• and
• a mechanism configured to establish the apparatus as bundle head for the endpoint identifier if a timeout period is reached and no other device is identified as servicing the same endpoint identifier.

A medium readable by a machine, the medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to:

• determine an endpoint identifier associated with a received request to establish a multilink connection;
• generate a message to identify other devices servicing the same endpoint identifier;
• and
• establish the current device as bundle head for the endpoint identifier if a timeout period expires and no other device is identified as servicing the same endpoint identifier.