Topology Discovery for An Application Layer Messaging Protocol With Hop-By-Hop Routing

A network element configured to implement an application layer messaging protocol that uses hop-by-hop routing, the network element comprising:

• memory in which a routing table is stored, the routing table including one or more table entries, each table entry associating a hop supported by the network element with a message destination potentially reachable via that hop;
• and
• processing circuitry configured to
• determine topological information about a local logical topography of the network element;
• and
• trigger transmission of the topological information to the hops defined in the routing table.

A network element configured to implement an application layer messaging protocol that uses hop-by-hop routing, the network element comprising:

• memory in which a routing table is stored, the routing table including one or more table entries, each table entry associating a hop supported by the network element with a message destination potentially reachable via that hop;
• an interface configured to receive topological information indicative of a local logical topography of a particular one of the hops in the routing table;
• and
• processing circuitry having access to the memory and configured to modify the routing table based on the received topological information.