Patent ID: 8873568

Claim:
A method of routing a data stream among a plurality of network nodes including at least a plurality of end-user nodes, the method comprising: obtaining the data stream at an optimising node included in routes established for said data stream to a plurality of consuming end-user nodes formed by connections amongst a group of end-user nodes; executing an optimisation algorithm at the optimizing node to determine routing modifications with respect to a sub-group of the group of end-user nodes by: evaluating a routing criterion with respect to a collection of end-user nodes within a respective said sub-group which share information with the optimising node, the routing criterion based upon an overall utility value that quantitatively estimates end-user benefit derived from consumption of the stream by the plurality of end-user nodes; applying one or more routing modifications to modify the routes based on the evaluation of the routing criterion with respect to the sub-group; and transmitting the data stream to the consuming end-user nodes via the routes as modified.