Patent ID: 7756008

Claim:
A method for the efficient routing of data packets across a plurality of routers in a telecommunications network when a link is unavailable, such method comprising: connecting a plurality of nodes in a telecommunications network using a plurality of routers having a plurality of links between said routers, wherein data packets can be sent between nodes in the telecommunications network via a plurality of paths, wherein each path passes through a different combination of routers and links and each router has a routing table which is recalculated at intervals using a routing protocol to provide the most efficient routing paths; informing a selected router that one or more of the links in the telecommunications network will be unavailable at a specified time in the future; transmitting a message from the selected router containing information about the one or more links that will be unavailable at a specified time in the future; polling of the selected router by routers in the telecommunications network in order to obtain additional information about the unavailability of the link or links at a specified time in the future; and recalculating the routing table in each router to determine the most efficient routing paths at the time in the future when one or more of the links in the telecommunications network will be unavailable.