US Patent 10003554 Assisted sideband traffic management

Disclosed is a network device, comprising a first network interface port, a second network interface port, and a processor coupled to the first network interface port and the second network interface port. The processor can be configured to operate in a first switching mode to receive network control packets via the first network interface port and transmit the received network control packets via the second network interface port. The processor can also be configured operate in a second communications mode to receive and transmit network communication packets using the first network interface independently of the operation in the first switching mode.