Patent ID: 7480735

Claim:
A processor-implemented method for enabling communication between a first and a second node in a network by routing network traffic through fault zones in the network, the method comprising: identifying a path from the first network node to the second network node, wherein the path is a possible routing path for communication between the first and second network nodes; identifying a set of fault zones through which the identified path passes; for each fault zone in the set of fault zones, assigning as a zone weight, the number of paths from the first network node to the second network node that include said fault zone, wherein the zone weight at each fault zone is equal to the number of routing paths that traverse that fault zone; calculating a path weight for the identified path, wherein said path weight is equal to the sums of said zone weights for each fault zone included in the identified path; and selecting the identified path as the current routing path for routing the network traffic from the first node to the second node, and enabling communication from the first node to the second node along the selected path.