Self-Routing Address Assignment In Packet-Switched Networks

Abstract

A Method And System For Assigning Self-Routing Addresses To Nodes In A Network With Arbitrary, Including Irregular, Topology Is Provided. The Method And System Are Useful In Packet-Switched Networks And In Particular Optical Packet-Switched Networks For Reducing Processing Associated With Routing Packets. Each Self-Routing Address Encodes A Set Of Paths From All Nodes In The Network To The Destination Node. In An Embodiment Of The Invention Each Output Port Of Each Node In A Network Sends A Packet In Response To The State Of A Bit In The Self-Routing Address In A Packet. Alternatively, Each Node Address In The Network Is Mapped To A Bit In A Self-Routing Address. Furthermore, A Node Can Have Multiple Self-Routing Addresses Encoding Different Sets Of Paths From All Other Nodes In The Network To The Node.; In Addition, Hierarchical Networks Are Included Among The Networks Suitable For Self-Routing Addresses.