Patent ID: 7869359

Claim:
A method for controlling data traffic in a network having a plurality of nodes connected via data links, comprising: determining all loop-free data paths between a sending node and a receiving node, the loop-free data paths comprising a concatenation of one or more data links connecting the sending node to the receiving node via one or more of the plurality of nodes; selecting loop-free data paths such that data traffic communicated between the sending node and the receiving node is communicated via the same loop-free data path; calculating link costs for the selected loop-free data paths using a linear optimization technique for determining uniform and homogeneous distribution of data traffic over data links of the network, wherein, in calculating link costs, the linear optimization technique attempts to distribute traffic equally over the data links of the network; defining one of the selected loop-free data paths having minimal link costs as an optimum data path; and communicating data traffic between the sending node and the receiving node via the optimum data path.