Patent ID: 7188189

Claim:
A method for transmitting real-time traffic on an Internet Protocol (IP) network from a signal origin point to a signal destination point, said traffic comprising a plurality of original data packets, the method comprising the steps of: (a) creating a duplicate data packet for at least some of said plurality of original data packets, thereby creating an original copy and a duplicate copy for at least some of said plurality of original data packets; (b) transmitting said original data packets to the signal destination point along a first network path; (c) transmitting at least some of said duplicate data packets to the signal destination point along a second network path wherein said second path differs from said first network path; (d) determining periodically the status of the first and second network paths by comparing the delays of the data packets in the first and second network paths; and (e) selecting the network path having the least delay as the active network path.