Patent ID: 7986636

Claim:
A method for determining whether or not a node in a network is a relay node, the method comprising: a) for each of a plurality of flows, assigning, by at least one computer, a random number to an active flow, wherein the random number is drawn from a known distribution; b) for each of a plurality of time slots, 1) determining any incoming flows to the node, 2) determining any outgoing flows from the node, 3) summing the random numbers assigned to any of the incoming flows to generate a first sum, 4) summing the random numbers assigned to any of the outgoing flows to generating a second sum, 5) multiplying the first sum with the second sum to generate a product associated with the time slot, by the at least one computer; c) summing, by the at least one computer, products over the plurality of time slots to obtain a summed product; d) repeating, by the at least one computer, (a)-(c) using an updated random number for each of the plurality of flows, thereby obtaining a plurality of summed products; e) determining, by the at least one computer, a variance of the plurality of summed products; f) comparing, by the at least one computer, the determined variance with a threshold to obtain a comparison result; g) determining, by the at least one computer, whether or not the node is a relay node using the comparison result, wherein if the determined variance is greater than the threshold, then determining that the node is a relay node, otherwise determining that the node is not a relay node; and h) executing, by the at least one computer, a relay node protection policy using the determination of whether or not the node is a relay node.