Patent ID: 7986631

Claim:
A method performed by a communication network for choosing a path for a circuit to be established in a communication network, said path including two or more nodes and a point-to-point communication link directly interconnecting each successive pair of nodes along said path, the method comprising identifying a plurality of paths through the network between a source node of said circuit and a destination node of said circuit, at least one of said paths comprising two or more links, and at least one of said paths including a selected one of two or more point-to-point communication links directly interconnecting a particular successive pair of nodes along that path, and choosing a particular one of said paths as the path for said particular circuit, wherein the selection of said selected link includes the application of a probabilistic rule, wherein point-to-point communication links in said network have respective administrative weights, wherein said particular one of said paths is chosen as a function of the administrative weights of the point-to-point communication links of said identified plurality of paths, wherein said two or more point-to-point communication links directly interconnecting said particular successive pair of nodes have substantially identical administrative weights, wherein said two or more point-to-point communication links directly interconnecting said particular successive pair of nodes meet at least one particular quality-of-service requirement for said circuit, and wherein said substantially identical administrative weights of said two or more point-to-point communication links are substantially equal to the minimum administrative weight of all point-to-point communication links directly interconnecting said particular successive pair of nodes that meet said quality-of-service requirement.