| 摘要 |
A network element (201) for a data transfer network comprises a processing system (221) for determining, in accordance with pre-determined rules, an eligibility indicator for each of data transfer paths providing access to a given destination. Each eligibility indicator is based on information related to the data transfer path under consideration, and the eligibility indicators of two or more of the data transfer paths express whether these two or more of the data transfer paths are eligible for being alternatives to each other for the purpose of e.g. load-sharing and/or protection. Differences which are between attributes of alternative data transfer paths but which are irrelevant from the viewpoint of load-sharing and/or protecting do not adversely prevent the load-sharing and/or protecting because the rules for determining the eligibility indicators can be defined so that the irrelevant differences have no effect on the determination of the eligibility indicators. |
