Local area network/wide area network switch
AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc.
InventorSteven H. Goody
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A local area network/wide area network (LAN/WAN) switch is presented which aggregates LAN traffic onto SONET/SDH transport streams in a programmable manner. The system can concentrate Ethernet packets and map the data onto SONET streams at data rates varying from STS-1 to STS-12C. Depending on the bandwidth available in the WAN interface, different numbers and combinations of STS-n streams can be formed. The system allows for efficient and flexible mapping of LAN traffic onto a WAN for transport over fiber optic networks.
Claims48
A Local Area Network (LAN) to Wide Area Network (WAN) switch comprising:
- (a) one or more LAN ports;
- (b) a plurality of WAN ports;
- and
- (c) an integrated circuit comprising a WAN port framer for receiving data from said at least one LAN port, and for mapping the received data into said plurality of WAN ports, said mapping of said received data into a WAN port selected by programming said WAN port framer without programming said integrated circuit wherein said programming selects a data transfer rate from said at least one LAN port to said selected WAN port.
A Local Area Network (LAN) to Wide Area Network (WAN) switch comprising:
- (a) at least one LAN port;
- (b) a packet switch, connected to said at least one LAN port, for providing concentration of traffic from said at least one LAN port;
- (c) a plurality of WAN output ports;
- and
- (d) an integrated circuit comprising a WAN port framer connected to said packet switch, for receiving data from said packet switch, and for mapping the received data into at least one of said output WAN ports, said mapping of said received data into a WAN port selected by programming said WAN port framer without programming said integrated circuit wherein said programming selects a data transfer rate from said at least one LAN port to said selected WAN port.
A Local Area Network (LAN) to Wide Area Network (WAN) switch comprising:
- (a) a plurality of LAN ports;
- (b) a packet switch connected to said plurality of LAN ports, wherein said packet switch creates a virtual LAN from a subset of said plurality of LAN ports;
- and
- (c) an integrated circuit comprising a WAN port framer connected to said packet switch and a plurality of WAN output ports for receiving data from said packet switch, and for mapping the received data into at least one WAN output port at a data transfer rate responsive to programming of said WAN port framer without programming said integrated circuit, wherein said programming selects said mapping and said data transfer rate.
A method for transporting data from a Local Area Network (LAN) to a Wide Area Network (WAN) in a re-configurable manner, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving LAN data on at least one LAN port;
- and
- (b) mapping the LAN data into at least one STS-1 transport stream, wherein the mapping can be selectively reconfigured to permit traffic from a LAN ports to be mapped into m STS-1 transport streams for a data transfer rate selected by programming without physically changing any underlying circuitry performing the data transporting method, wherein the LAN data mapping step comprises programming at least one register in the underlying circuitry.
A method for transporting data from a Local Area Network (LAN) to a Wide Area Network (WAN) in a re-configurable manner, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving LAN data on at least one LAN port;
- (b) concentrating and switching the received LAN data;
- and
- (c) mapping the concentrated LAN data into at least one STS-1 transport stream at a data transfer rate;
- (d) reconfiguring said mapping to permit traffic from n LAN ports to be mapped into m STS-1 transport streams at a selected data transfer rate by programming without physically changing any underlying circuitry performing the data transporting method, wherein the concentrated LAN data mapping step comprise programming at least one register in the underlying circuitry.
A method for transporting data from a Local Area Network (LAN) to a Wide Area Network (WAN) in a re-configurable manner, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving LAN data on a plurality of LAN ports;
- (b) forming a virtual LAN from a subset of the plurality of LAN ports;
- (c) receiving data from the virtual LAN;
- and
- (d) mapping the data from the virtual LAN into at least one STS-1 transport stream at a data transfer rate;
- (e) reconfiguring the mapping to permit traffic from n LAN ports to be mapped into m STS-1 transport streams at a selected data transfer rate by programming without physically changing any underlying circuitry performing the data transporting method, wherein the data mapping step comprises programming at least one register in the underlying circuitry.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.