Patent ID: 8743697

Claim:
A system for routing internet traffic over a plurality of internet links, the system comprising: an internet router having (i) at least one input port to receive a plurality of incoming data packets from one or more network users and (ii) a plurality of output ports coupled to the plurality of internet links, wherein each output port is coupled to an associated internet link that is associated with a corresponding one of a plurality of backbone providers, the internet router including: switching circuitry, coupled to the at least one input port and the plurality of output ports, to couple the at least one input port to a selected output port in response to control signals; and a switch controller, coupled to the switching circuitry, to generate the control signals using routing instructions; and a processor, coupled to the internet router, configured to: determine a list of the backbone providers associated with respective ones of the internet links that are configured to carry the internet traffic to a predetermined destination; determine which of the listed backbone providers have usage-based bandwidth capacity to sell based on bandwidth seller instructions from the listed backbone providers; generate a ranked list from best to worst of the listed backbone providers determined to have usage-based bandwidth capacity to sell based on a plurality of parameters including (a) financial costs of routing data packets over the internet links and (b) traffic condition information associated with the internet links; and generate routing instructions to route incoming data packets from the at least one input port to the output port coupled to the internet link associated with the best backbone provider from which the capacity was purchased.