Embedded network packet data for use of alternative paths within a group of network devices

A node comprising processing circuitry and a storage device, wherein the node is connected to a plurality of interconnected nodes, and wherein the processing circuitry has access to the storage device and is configured to:

• receive a network packet to be forwarded to a destination node, wherein the destination node is included within the plurality of interconnected nodes;
• identify, from among a plurality of egress links from the node, a first link along a path to the destination node;
• determine that the first link is inoperable;
• store, within the network packet, data identifying the node as having been visited;
• identify, from among the plurality of egress links from the node, a second link that is operable and is along an alternative path to the destination node, wherein identifying the second link includes evaluating visited nodes data within the network packet and determining that the second link does not connect to another node that the network packet has previously visited;
• and
• transmit the network packet over the second link.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a first node included within a plurality of interconnected nodes, a network packet to be forwarded to a destination node, wherein the destination node is included within the plurality of interconnected nodes;
• identifying, by the first node and from among a plurality of egress links from the first node, a first link along a path to the destination node;
• determining, by the first node and based on visited node data stored within the network packet, that the first link leads to a second node that the network packet has previously visited, wherein the visited node data is represented as a vector that includes one bit associated with each of the plurality of interconnected nodes;
• updating, by the first node, the visited node data to identify the first node as having been visited by the network packet;
• identifying, by the first node and from among the plurality of egress links from the first node, a second link that does not connect to another node that the network packet has previously visited and is along an alternative path to the destination node;
• and
• transmitting, by the node, the network packet over the second link.

A system comprising:

• a first node configured to:
• receive a network packet to be forwarded to a destination node,
• identify, from among a plurality of egress links from the first node, a first link along a path to the destination node,
• determine that the first link is inoperable,
• store, within the network packet, visited node data identifying the first node as having been visited by the network packet, wherein to store the visited node data, the first node is configured to insert a visited node vector into the network packet, and encode the network packet to indicate that the network packet includes the visited node vector,
• identify, from among the plurality of egress links from the first node, a second link that is operable and is along an alternative path to the destination node, and
• transmit the network packet over the second link;
• and
• a second node configured to:
• receive the network packet over the second link from the first node;
• identify, from among a plurality of egress links from the second node, a third link along a path to the destination node,
• determine, based on the visited node data stored within the network packet, that the third link leads to a node that has been previously visited by the network packet;
• update the visited node data to identify the second node as having been visited by the network packet,
• identify, from among the plurality of egress links from the second node, a fourth link that is operable and is along a second alternative path to the destination node, and
• transmit the network packet over the fourth link.