ALLOCATING COMMUNICATION TRAFFIC BETWEEN TERMINALS VIA INTERCONNECTED NODES WITH SELECTION BASED UPON COSTING AGAINST OPTIMAL TRAFFIC DENSITY

摘要

Communication traffic is allocated through a network of interconnected nodes. A communication path may be established between terminals via a plurality of routes. Processors are provided for processing parameters for portions of a set of potential routes to determine a notional cost of using each of these routes. An optimal level of traffic is identified for each route portion and a parameter (such as notional route length) is adjusted to make use of the route more costly if the traffic for that portion exceeds the notional value and, in addition, if the traffic for the portion falls below the optimum value, a route is then selected with reference to route cost comparisons.