US Patent 7821981 Satellite switch communication over a network

A method for interconnecting a satellite switch and a virtual switch for communication over a network includes transmitting a multicast packet containing a satellite identifier over the network and receiving a response multicast packet containing the satellite identifier, a satellite index associated with the satellite switch, and a virtual switch index associated with the virtual switch transmitting the response packet. The virtual switch index is mapped into a destination address and the destination address is inserted into a satellite packet. The satellite packet is then transmitted over the network to the virtual switch.