External IRC Device for Network Switch Address Table Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional network switches face delays or packet drops when their resources are busy, particularly during address lookup operations, as they either delay processing or drop packets due to unavailability of resources.
Innovation Solution
An external device provides a rules checker memory that stores duplicate address tables from network devices, allowing for monitoring and updating of these tables to ensure continuous packet processing even when primary devices are resource-constrained.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the network switch processes packets using its internal resources, then packet processing accuracy is maintained, but packet processing speed decreases when resources are busy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external IRC device as an intermediary that assists the network switch in address lookup operations. When the switch's internal resources are busy, the external IRC device performs address lookups using a duplicate address table, thereby maintaining packet processing speed without compromising accuracy. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by distributing the processing load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a duplicate address table in the external IRC device that mirrors the internal address table of the network switch. This copy enables the external device to perform address lookups independently when the internal resources are unavailable, thus maintaining both processing speed and accuracy simultaneously.
2Reliability
If the network switch delays packet processing when resources are unavailable, then resource availability is ensured, but loss of time occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-establishes a duplicate address table in the external IRC device before it is needed. This preliminary action ensures that when the internal resources become unavailable, the external device can immediately perform address lookups without delay, thus eliminating packet processing delays while preserving resource availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The external IRC device acts as a mediator that can immediately handle address lookups when the internal switch resources are busy, preventing packet delays without compromising the internal resources of the switch.
3Reliability
If the network switch drops packets when resources are unavailable, then resource availability is maintained, but loss of information occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The external IRC device serves as a mediator that handles address lookups when the internal switch resources are unavailable, preventing packet drops and information loss while maintaining resource availability in the internal switch.
Solution Approach 2:
The duplicate address table in the external IRC device enables the system to process packets that would otherwise be dropped due to internal resource unavailability, thus preventing information loss while preserving internal resource availability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a plurality of network devices and an external memory. Each network device includes an address table. The external memory includes a group of address tables corresponding to the address tables of the network devices. The system monitors the address table associated with each of the network devices, detects whether one of the address tables has been updated, and updates the corresponding address table in the external memory in response to detecting an update to one of the address tables.