Patent ID: 8077729

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, by a network device, a flow of data packets; and establishing, by the network device, a shortcut virtual channel connection (VCC) toward a destination node, in a network, for the flow of data packets, where establishing the shortcut VCC includes: receiving a plurality of address resolution request packets that are being transmitted between a plurality of communication nodes, in the network, and the destination node, where the received plurality of address resolution request packets include information indicative of respective hop count values, modifying the received plurality of address resolution request packets to include data regarding a source address of the flow of data packets, transmitting the modified plurality of address resolution request packets toward the destination node, and establishing, according to the information indicative of hop count values in the received plurality of address resolution request packets, the shortcut VCC between the destination node and a communication node, of the plurality of communication nodes in the network, most remote from the destination node, where establishing the shortcut VCC includes: receiving an indication that another node, of the plurality of the communication nodes and the destination node, has detected, based on the data regarding the source address and a destination address indicated in the plurality of address resolution request packets, the modified plurality of address resolution request packets, where the indication includes a selection of one of the modified plurality of address resolution request packets associated with the communication node most remote from the destination node on the network, where remoteness of the plurality of communication nodes is determined according to the information indicative of hop count values included in the plurality of address resolution request packets, and establishing the shortcut VCC based on the selection of the one of the modified plurality of address resolution request packets.