Inband directed routing for load balancing and load distribution in a data communication network

A system for monitoring and controlling a data communication network which communicates a serial stream of binary bits having a characteristic pattern for data frames which include load balancing and load distribution information, comprising:

• a sending station;
• a receiving station;
• a plurality of data transfer nodes coupled in alternative linking paths between the sending and receiving stations;
• each data transfer node including a real time passive device for identifying load balancing and load distributed information in a frame processed by the node;
• each device adapted to count frame and byte transmissions as load information at the node;
• means for reporting the load information to a control station for determination whether a node is congested;
• and
• means for changing load balancing and load distribution information in each data frame as routing information to bypass a congested node by way of an alternative link connection to the receiving station.

In a system for monitoring and controlling a data communication network which communicates a serial stream of binary bits having a characteristic pattern for data frames which include load balancing and load distribution information, a method for operating said system comprising the steps of:

• supplying a data packet from a sending station for transmission through a communication network including a plurality of nodes coupled to a receiving station through alternative linking paths;
• sending routing information in each data packet for use by each node in routing the packets to the receiving station;
• monitoring the data packets at each node for routing information and generating a control signal to direct the data packet to another node in the network;
• counting the number of frames and byte transmissions at each node for load control purposes;
• reporting the load information to the sending station for determination whether a node is in a congested state;
• altering the routing information in each packet to bypass a node in a congested state by way of an alternative linking path;
• and
• routing the data packet at each node to the receiving station by way of the alternative linking path when bypassing a congested node.