Patent ID: 7471669
Filing Date: 2008-12-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of routing a protocol data unit at a node within a network, the network comprising a first node, a second node and at least one intermediate node, the nodes being interconnected by communication links, the method comprising: receiving a protocol data unit carrying routing information in the form of a list of identifiers of the links of the path to be followed by the protocol data unit towards the second node; replacing the link identifier for the link just traversed with a link identifier for the corresponding link in the reverse direction towards the first node; providing an index pointing to a current link in the list of link identifiers; using the index to determine if the protocol data unit needs to be forwarded to another node; if the node determines that the protocol data unit does not need to be forwarded to another node, filling unused space within the routing information with a padding value; and determining the total length of the path by summing the total number of link identifiers, in the list of link identifiers, which are not equal to the padding value.