Patent ID: 7603599

Claim:
A method for testing a routing network that includes a primary routing path connecting the output of a first source node to the input of a first load node, the method comprising: creating a second source node configured as a pattern generator which is not a part of the primary routing path; creating a first alternative routing path linking the second source node to the first load node, the first alternative routing path overlapping a first portion of the primary routing path; creating a second load node configured as an observation point which is not a part of the primary routing path; providing a second alternative routing path linking the first source node to the second load node, the second alternative routing path overlapping a second portion of the primary routing path; wherein the first portion and the second portion of the primary routing path comprise a portion of the primary routing path, where remaining portions of the primary routing path are provided by a test of the first source node and the first load node; and testing the primary routing path using the second source node and the second load node which are not a part of the primary routing path.