Patent ID: 8774195

Claim:
A method for routing data packets in a data center network, the method being implemented by one or more processors and comprising: (a) defining a set of virtual local area networks (VLANs) on a set of nodes that comprise the data center network, each VLAN defining one or more paths from a root node in the set of nodes to one or more other nodes in the set of nodes; (b) determining, via the VLANs, a set of possible paths from the one or more paths for routing data packets from the root node to the one or more other nodes in the set of nodes; (c) measuring data traffic in the data center network and modeling a behavior of the data center network based on the measured data traffic; (d) generating a probabilistic routing table for the set of possible paths that an individual data packet can take between the root node and a destination node specified by the individual data packet, wherein the probabilistic routing table is based at least in part on the modeled behavior of the data center network; and (e) routing the individual data packet to the destination node along a selected path from the set of possible paths that is determined by use of the probabilistic routing table, the selected path being provided by one or more of the VLANs in the set of VLANs.