Patent ID: 8339987

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for determining a congestion metric for a particular path in a network, comprising: providing a plurality of possible paths between each pair of multi-path load balancing (MPLB) components of a plurality of MPLB components within a Layer 2 network by establishing a plurality of overlapping loop-free topologies within the Layer 2 network in which each of the plurality of MPLB components is reachable by any other of the plurality of MPLB components via each of the plurality of overlapping loop-free topologies; sending, by a first MPLB component of the plurality of MPLB components associated with a first network device, a latency request packet to a second MPLB component of the plurality of MPLB components associated with a second network device via the particular path, wherein the latency request packet comprises a timestamp provided by a first clock associated with the first MPLB component; receiving, by the first MPLB component, a latency response packet sent by the second MPLB component in response to the latency request packet, wherein the latency response packet comprises a timestamp provided by a second clock associated with the second MPLB component; and deriving, by the first MPLB component, a one-way latency value for the particular path based at least partially upon the timestamp provided by the first clock and the timestamp provided by the second clock, wherein the one-way latency value indicates how much time is needed for a set of information to travel from the first MPLB component to the second MPLB component along the particular path; and wherein the first MPLB and the second MPLB are realized using one or more of hardware logic components, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and one or more processors executing a set of instructions.