Route finding in communications networks

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A method of determining a restoration route (or an additional route) in a fully or partially meshed communications network of nodes comprising sending, from a failure node a common help message on each span corresponding to a failed route, the common help message comprising a respective route ID field (and a respective associated route capacity field) for each failed route and , a route ID count field. A node which upon receipt of such a common help message initially determines itself to be the master end node for a plurality existing routes will generates and forward flood a common forward route-finder message for those failed routes. A slave node will respond to receipt of a …