Patent ID: 8130644

Claim:
In a system comprising a network and a border component situated at a border of the network, wherein the network is a loop-free, reverse-path-learning network, and wherein the network is divided into a plurality of virtual networks, a method performed by the border component, comprising: receiving a packet from an external component situated outside the border of the network, the packet comprising a destination address; determining a packet type for the packet; determining whether to perform a load balancing function for the packet by determining whether path selection is appropriate for the packet type; in response to a determination that path selection is not appropriate for the packet type, processing the packet in a manner that is appropriate for the packet type, wherein processing does not comprise selecting a path through the network for the packet; and in response to a determination that path selection is appropriate for the packet type: determining a set of one or more virtual networks that can be used to transport the packet through the network, wherein the set of virtual networks is at least a subset of the plurality of virtual networks, and wherein each virtual network in the set of virtual networks provides a different path through the network; selecting a particular virtual network from the set of virtual networks, thereby, selecting a particular path to take through the network; updating the packet to include information indicating the particular virtual network that has been selected to derive an updated packet; and sending the updated packet into the network to be transported through the network along the particular path.