Patent ID: 8792374

Claim:
A network device, comprising: a memory device that is configured to store data; and a processor that is operative on the data to perform actions, including: receiving state information from each forwarding device within a plurality of forwarding devices within a defined network; determining a network demand for each of the plurality of forwarding devices within the defined network; determining a set of paths between source-destination pairs of forwarding devices within the plurality of forwarding devices; for each forwarding device in the plurality of forwarding devices: determining from the set of paths a desired state, and determining differences between the received state information and the desired state; defining an operational command schedule based on the determined differences, the operational command schedule being arranged in a sequence that makes a completed new path structure before breaking an existing path structure between forwarding devices; and transmitting each operational command, within the operational command schedule based on the arranged sequence, to one or more of the forwarding devices, wherein the one or more forwarding devices are instructed to inhibit implementation of a received operational command until receiving an indication that the new path structure is usable.