Patent ID: 7239631

Claim:
A method for re-routing data packets of a packet-switching network onto at least one alternate network that assures a quality requested by a network user, the packet-switching network and the at least one alternate network form sub-networks of a network over which data packets can be transmitted, including at least one source node and at least one destination node that are each respectively one of either directly or indirectly connected to an access node via at least one intermediate node, the access node setting up a connection both to the packet-switching network and to one of the at least one alternate network, the method comprising: identifying by a respective bit pattern known to the access node the data packets to be routed via an alternate network in the source node by a bit pattern known to the access node; recognizing the known bit pattern upon arrival of such data packets in the access node; re-routing the data packets identified with the known bit pattern onto an alternate network; connecting to the source node a filter that is integrated in a table for determining traffic paths in the access node via an additional entry of the bit pattern that can produce a rerouting of a data packet identified with the bit pattern onto an alternative network; using in at least one source node, bit patterns corresponding to the respectively requested quality; using each recognized bit pattern of a data packet to produce a re-routing thereof onto at least one alternate network with a quality corresponding to the recognized bit pattern; and preventing the re-routing of the data packet onto at least one alternate network, if after recognition of the bit pattern of a data packet to be routed via the at least one alternate network in the access node, the at least one alternate network cannot offer the quality corresponding to the bit pattern.