Method and system for assigning port addresses for a plurality of network
devices based on a link rate associated with each network device is
provided. The method includes discovering a link rate associated with
each of the plurality of network devices; assigning a device address for
each of the plurality of network devices, where at least a portion of the
device address is selected based on the discovered link rate; assigning
communication lanes among the plurality of network devices for network
communication, wherein the communication lanes are assigned such that
network devices with similar link rates use a same communication lane.