This application is based upon and claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No.
The invention thus provides a MAC address learning apparatus that improves the hit rate in a MAC address learning table maintained in each of the edge switches (14, 15) provided in a wide-area VLAN carrier network.
#Conversational mac address learning registration
In a network providing a wide-area LAN service which allows communications to be performed between user networks (12, 13) via a carrier network (11), edge switches (14, 15) each comprise: a tentative learning registration means (16) which, when a packet whose source MAC address and receiving port are not yet learned is received from the carrier network, registers the source MAC address and the receiving port in a tentatively learned state a learned state changing means (17) which changes the learned state of the destination MAC address of a packet received from an associated one of the user networks to a permanently learned state and a permanent learning registration means which, when a packet whose destination MAC address is registered in a learned state is received from the carrier network, registers the source MAC address and receiving port of the packet received from the carrier network in a permanently learned state.