Patent ID: 7392378

Claim:
A system for routing data packets over a selected network interface link of a data communications network, comprising: a network routing device coupled to at least two potential network interface links, each one of the at least two potential network interface links being protected by a cryptographic subsystem comprising key material stored in a key storage area, a cryptographic engine configured to use at least a portion of the key material to encrypt the data packets before transmitting the data packets over the selected network interface link, and a key storage area information channel configured to convey to the network routing device a report comprising an indicator of a remaining encryption capacity for the cryptographic subsystem, wherein the indicator of the remaining encryption capacity comprises a quantitative measure representative of a capacity of the cryptographic engine to encrypt subsequent data packets; wherein the network routing device is configured to determine, based on the indicator, which one of the potential network interface links will be the selected network interface link.