Patent ID: 7633873

Claim:
A method for communicating data via an optimum data path in a network having a plurality of nodes connected via data links, comprising: determining an optimum data path between a sending node and a receiving node by: determining all loop-free data paths between the sending node and the receiving node, each loop-free data path comprising a concatenation of one or more data links between nodes in the network; selecting loop-free data paths between the sending node and the receiving node; determining utilization of the data links included in the selected loop-free data paths based on one or more of: maximum link utilizations, average link utilizations, or values indicative of combinations of the maximum link utilizations and the average link utilizations of the selected loop-free data paths; and selecting the loop-free data path having one or more of: the minimal maximum link utilization, the minimal average link utilization, or the minimal value indicative of combinations of the maximum link utilizations and the average link utilizations as the optimum data path to facilitate uniform utilization of the data links; and communicating data between the sending node and the receiving node via the selected optimum data path, such that all data communicated between the sending node and the receiving node is communicated via the selected optimum loop-free data path.