System and method for recording a routing path within a network packet

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for recording a routing path within a network packet. In particular, the embodiments provide a mechanism to modify a payload of a network packet to include a hop identifier that uniquely corresponds to the computing device on both a forward path and a return path. The system is configured to return the network packet if an ingress address of the computing device matches a destination address of the network packet. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, a single network packet records in the payload a forward path and return path of the network packet through the network. The solution is inexpensive, simply implemented, and easily executed without relying on new hardware and/or software applications executed at an origin computing device.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.