Host-Influenced Packet Routing via Traffic-Management Field
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional communication networks are inefficient in quickly rerouting traffic around failures and congested links, and they fail to fully utilize available bandwidth, leading to suboptimal throughput and prolonged recovery times.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows a host to influence packet routing through a network using a traffic-management field within the packet's header, enabling the selection of output ports based on the traffic-management field, which can reroute traffic around congested or failed links and increase throughput by using multiple paths without requiring explicit node specification or substantial hardware changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional routing techniques are used, then network stability is maintained, but the ability to quickly detect and reroute traffic around failures is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-computes and stores multiple equal-cost paths to each destination in the routing table before failures occur. When a failure is detected, the router can immediately switch to a pre-computed alternative path without waiting for route recalculation, thus achieving both fast rerouting and network reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The routing system dynamically selects among multiple pre-computed paths based on real-time network conditions and failure states. The router can adaptively switch between static pre-computed paths and dynamic route adjustments, combining the stability of predetermined paths with the flexibility of real-time response
2Productivity
If conventional routing techniques are used, then network simplicity is maintained, but bandwidth utilization is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The routing table structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it stores primary routes for normal operation, alternative equal-cost paths for failure recovery, and provides the basis for load balancing across multiple paths. This multi-functionality enables improved bandwidth utilization without requiring separate complex routing mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the routing table to include multiple next-hop entries with different metric values. By changing the parameter of path selection from single-best-path to multi-path-with-different-metrics, the system can utilize spare bandwidth on alternative paths while maintaining a relatively simple routing table structure that extends conventional routing concepts
3Ease of operation
If explicit source routing is used, then routing control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the path selection control from the source host and places it in the router's routing table. Instead of requiring the source system to explicitly specify complex node sequences, the router autonomously selects from pre-computed paths based on simple metrics stored in the routing table, reducing operational complexity while maintaining routing control
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for routing packets in a network. A router may receive a packet at an input port which originated from a source system and which is destined to a destination system. The packet may include a traffic-management field which enables the source system to influence how the packet is routed through the network without requiring the source system to explicitly specify nodes that the packet should traverse. The router can use the traffic-management field to select an output port from a set of output ports of the router that are associated with different paths to the destination system. Since the traffic-management field's value is set by the source system, it enables the source system to influence how the router selects the output port, thereby enabling the source system to influence how the packet is routed through the network.