Patent ID: 8570872

Claim:
A method for selecting communications routing comprising: gathering, by an outside network, network performance information from a communications network using performance information packet (PIP) data packets, wherein the communications network is configured with permissions to allow the outside network to obtain network performance information from within the communications network, wherein the permissions includes limitations on types of network performance information that the outside network is able to obtain; selecting a network connection including an ingress packet path and an egress packet path offering the best quality of service between the communications network and an outside network based on the network performance information, wherein selecting the network connection includes determining, using the network performance information, whether a connection path is used primarily by the outside network to route communications between the outside network and the communications network, and responsive to a determination that the connection path is used primarily by the outside network to route communications between the outside network and the communications network, configuring network permissions to enable the outside network to modify operations affecting at least one node segments along the connection path to establish the best quality of service between the communications network and the outside network; and establishing the network connection between the communications network and the outside network for routing communications.