Duplicate MAC address detection
AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
InventorZu Qiang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for differentiating between a duplicate MAC address situation and a multiple MAC address movement situation are provided. A node receives a new MAC address determines if it is a known or unknown MAC address by comparing it with a stored MAC address table. If it is a previously known MAC address, the node initiates a duplicate MAC address detection process to determine if at least one of the duplicate MAC addresses is no longer valid or is the result of a MAC mobility event.
Claims14
A method for verifying a duplicate Media Access Control (MAC) address, performed by a network node, the method comprising:
- receiving a first MAC address from a first node through a MAC address learning mechanism;
- determining that the first MAC address matches a second MAC address stored in a MAC address table, the second MAC address having been previously learned from a second node;
- attempting to reach both the first MAC address and the second MAC address by sending a first reachability message to each of the first and second nodes;
- responsive to receiving acknowledgement that the first MAC address and the second MAC address are both reachable, re-attempting to reach both the first MAC address and the second MAC address by sending a second reachability message to each of the first and second nodes without reporting a duplicate MAC address situation;
- and
- determining whether the first MAC address is a duplicate MAC address in accordance with receiving an indication that the second MAC address was reachable or not reachable by the second reachability message.
A network node comprising a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor whereby the network node is operative to:
- receive, at a communication interface, a first Media Access Control (MAC) address from a first node through a MAC address learning mechanism;
- determine that the first MAC address matches a second MAC address stored in a MAC address table, the second MAC address having been previously learned from a second node;
- attempt to reach both the first MAC address and the second MAC address by sending a first reachability message to each of the first and second nodes;
- responsive to receiving acknowledgement that the first MAC address and the second MAC address are both reachable, re-attempt to reach both the first MAC address and the second MAC address by sending a second reachability message to each of the first and second nodes without reporting a duplicate MAC address situation;
- and
- determine whether the first MAC address is a duplicate MAC address in accordance with receiving an indication that the second MAC address was reachable or not reachable by the second reachability message.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.