The invention discloses a method for maintaining neighbourship in a TRILL (Transparent
Interconnection of Lots of Links) network; the method comprises the following steps of: receiving Hello message sent by other RB (Routing Bridge) in the same link in the TRILL (Transparent
Interconnection of Lots of Links) network by the current RB (Routing Bridge), performing DRB (
Data Radio Bearer) election according to the received Hello message; selecting the specified VLAN (Virtual
Local Area Network) and periodically sending the Hello message to inform the other RB (Routing Bridge) within the specified VLAN (Virtual
Local Area Network) if the current RB (Routing Bridge) is elected as DRB (
Data Radio Bearer); if the other RB (Routing Bridge) is elected as DRB (
Data Radio Bearer), receiving the Hello message with the specified VLAN (Virtual
Local Area Network) sent by the DRB (Data Radio Bearer), acquiring the specified VLAN (Virtual Local
Area Network) and periodically sending the Hello message within the specified VLAN (Virtual Local
Area Network). The invention further discloses an RB (Routing Bridge) capable of reducing the quantity of the sent Hello messages based on the same inventive concept, reduces the consumption of the link bandwidth, and improves the CPU (
Central Processing Unit)
processing capability of the RB (Routing Bridge).