摘要 |
<p>A virtual overlay network (VON) (200) over an internetwork is dynamically maintained through inter-node communications (204) that include messages adapted to establish node neighbors (202A --- 202H), the messages being passed over tunnels within the internetwork. Node neighbors may be established according to connectivity constraints of a node, for example a limit on the maximum number of permissible neighbors and/or a requirement for a communication path to a core node. Often, node neighbors are selected according, at least in part, to link cost metrics between nodes. The selections may be periodically reevaluated and/or updated and the neighbor choosing process involves executing a chosen neighbor heuristic that connects nodes that are close to one another in the underlying internetwork and may apply where the topology is flat or hierarchical.</p> |