Patent ID: 8705555

Claim:
A route control system to determine a route for a data flow in a network including a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links, each of the plurality of links connecting two nodes out of the plurality of nodes or connecting one of the plurality of nodes to one of a plurality of terminals, the route being a chain of links out of the plurality of links and connecting two terminals out of the plurality of terminals, the route control system comprising: a memory; and a processor executing: storing, in the memory, a link cost for each link included in the network; checking a status of a node included in the network, the status depending on whether a link is set to pass data through the node where the node is in a wake state when the link is set to pass data through the node and the node is in the sleep state when no link is set to pass data through the node, updating a link cost for a link connected with a node in the wake state to a value smaller than any link cost for a link connected with a node in the sleep state, accepting a flow request to set a data flow from a first terminal out of the plurality of terminals to a second terminal out of the plurality of terminals, determining an optimum route having a sum of link costs that is lowest among link costs for other available routes connecting the first terminal to the second terminal, and setting the data flow corresponding with the optimum route, wherein the updating stores in the memory, as the link cost for the link connected with the node in the sleep state, an amount corresponding to power consumption of the node in the sleep state and the updating updates the link cost for the link connected with a retired node to an amount corresponding to a power consumption of a retired node when the checking has detected that an active node has been shifted to the retired node after all data flows passing through the active node have completed, and wherein the active node is in the wake state, and the retired node is in the sleep state.