Method and system for augmenting communications network with spare capacity

A method in a computer system for determining an initial configuration of a communications network, the method comprising:

• identifying components that are not currently configured into the communications network, but could be configured in the communications network;
• assigning a cost to each of the identified component that reflects relative cost preferences of using the identified components within a restoral route;
• generating restoral routes as if the identified components were configured into the communications network;
• and
• determining based on usage of the identified components within the restoral routes which of the identified components would be sufficiently valuable in bypassing the failed components to justify configuring the identified component into the communications network.

A computer system for determining an initial configuration of a commnunications network, comprising:

• a component for identifying artificial segments that are not currently configured into the communications network, but could be configured in the communications network;
• generating restoral routes as if the identified artificial segments were configured into the communications network;
• and
• determining based on cost usage of the identified artificial segment within the restoral routes which of the identified aricial segments should be configured into the communications network to bypass a failed segment.