Distributing packets to line cards of a packet switching device based on bridge indication values received therewith

A method, comprising:

• receiving a particular packet on a first line card of a plurality of line cards of a packet switching device, with said received particular packet including:
• one or more values identifying a particular bridge value of a plurality of bridge values;
• forwarding said received particular packet, as received or a derivation thereof, from the first line card to at least two of the plurality of line cards to which the particular bridge value is mapped;
• and
• sending, from the packet switching device, a packet corresponding to said received particular packet, as received or the derivation thereof, only from a single line card of said at least two of the plurality of line cards.

A packet switching device, comprising:

• a plurality of edge line cards;
• a core line card, communicatively coupled to the plurality of edge line cards, with the core line card configured:
• to receive a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packet including:
• a first label identifying a bridge identification value, and a second label identifying a transport source value;
• wherein the MPLS packet encapsulates a particular packet;
• to determine the plurality of edge line cards based on the bridge identification value;
• and
• to forward the particular packet and the transport source value to said determined plurality of edge line cards;
• and
• wherein each of the plurality of edge line cards is configured:
• to perform address learning for a respective one or more bridge tables, which includes associating the transport source value with a source address of the particular packet;
• and to perform lookup operations on the respective one or more bridge tables for determining whether or not to forward a packet;
• wherein only a single one of the plurality of edge cards is configured to result in the sending of the particular packet from the packet switching device.