Patent ID: 8116200

Claim:
A method comprising: obtaining a first packet, the first packet being obtained by a destination point, the first packet having a first payload, the first payload being arranged to identify a first path between endpoints traversed by the first packet, the first payload including first identifying information associated with a first node associated with the first path traversed by the first packet, wherein the first identifying information includes a first arrival time arranged to identify approximately when the first packet arrived at the first node and a first leaving time arranged to identify approximately when the first packet left the first node; determining at least a first service level agreement (SLA) parameter of the first path using the first identifying information, wherein determining the first SLA parameter of the first path includes the destination point analyzing at least the first arrival time and the first leaving time; comparing the first SLA parameter of the first path with a second SLA parameter associated with a second path traversed by a second probe packet between the endpoints, wherein the destination point compares the first SLA parameter and the second SLA parameter; and selecting the first path for sending packets between the endpoints if the first SLA parameter indicates a higher SLA level than indicated by the second SLA parameter, wherein the first path is selected by the destination point.