Patent ID: 7349427

Claim:
A method of routing data packets in a heterogeneous network from a first network node, the method comprising the steps of: creating entries in at least one database associated with said first network node, each entry relating to at least one respective path from said first network node to a respective destination node in the network; determining, when creating an entry, if a network node located along said at least one respective path is a heterogeneous network node; associating with each created entry, additional information comprising at least one heterogeneous characteristic of said heterogeneous network node, said at least one heterogeneous characteristic comprising a metric cost for encapsulating data packets provided in a form compliant with a first protocol set into a form compliant with a second protocol set; creating subsequent entries in respect of paths to other network nodes; associating said additional information with said subsequent entries; and determining an optimum path along which said data packets are to be routed in dependence on said additional information.