Tie-breaking in shortest path determination
US8761022B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 22, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 17, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L45/48
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A consistent tie-breaking decision between equal-cost shortest (lowest cost) paths is achieved by comparing an ordered set of node identifiers for each of a plurality of end-to-end paths. Alternatively, the same results can be achieved, on-the-fly, as a shortest path tree is constructed, by making a selection of an equal-cost path using the node identifiers of the diverging branches of the tree. Both variants allow a consistent selection to be made of equal-cost paths, regardless of where in the network the shortest paths are calculated. This ensures that traffic flow between any two nodes, in both the forward and reverse directions, will always follow the same path through the network.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.