Patent ID: 7475156

Claim:
A method for routing messages in a network, said method comprising the steps of identifying, by a routing device, a first one message of a message flow comprising a first plurality of messages, said first plurality of messages having at least one first routing treatment in common; recording said first routing treatment in an entry of a flow cache, the routing treatment comprising switching information that determines an output port for switching packets; generating an accounting record for the message flow in the entry; recording accounting information in the entry, the accounting information comprising a first time stamp of the first one message; identifying a second one message of said first plurality of messages; updating the accounting information, the updated accounting information comprising a second time stamp of the second one message; determining that the message flow has expired if a difference between the first time stamp and the second time stamp is greater than a timeout; and routing said second one message responsive to said first routing treatment if the difference is less than the timeout.