Patent ID: 6801534
Filing Date: 2004-10-05
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
For a distributed packet communications network wherein a plurality of network nodes are interconnected by transmission links, one of said network nodes is designated as a manager node and routes are determined between pairs of nodes acting as endpoints, one endpoint acting as a source node and the other acting as a destination node, a method practiced at the manager node for centrally managing route changes, said method comprising the steps of:deciding when a route between a source node and a destination node is to be determined and if it is to be determined by the manager node, determining at the manager node a route between the source node and the destination node, sending a message to the source node to inform the source node to accept a route determined by the manager node, said message having a predetermined field containing a value falling within a predetermined range of values indicating manager node route selection, and sending the route information to the source node, for routes determined by the manager node; and recognizing when a route between a source node and a destination node is to be determined by the source node using information already available at the source node, and only then, sending a message to the source node to authorize the source node to perform its own determination of the route between the source node and the destination node, said message including a value falling outside the predetermined range of values in the predetermined field which authorizes source node route selection using local information.