Call routing method using prioritized source-destination routes

A method of routing a call in a communication network formed of a plurality of nodes interconnected by links comprising:

• determining all possible routes between a source node and a destination node in said network, each of said routes being formed of at least one of said links;
• determining a total cost of each of said routes by summing economic costs of the links of each route and storing in a memory at said source node;
• modifying said stored total costs of said routes according to a priority of the routes based on non-economic factors and storing the modified total costs into said memory at said source node;
• responsive to a connection request from said source node, making a search through said memory for selecting a least cost route;
• sending a connection request from said source node along the selected route, thereby attempting to connect to said selected route;
• and
• if a connection is not established by the connection attempt within a predetermined period of time, repeating the process of making a search through said memory for selecting a sequentially next least cost route by excluding one or more routes previously selected, sending a new connection request from said source node along the newly selected route, and awaiting said predetermined period of time to determine if a connection has been established by said new connection, so that said process to attempt establishing a connection is repeated until a connection is established or until all possible routes in said memory have been sequentially attempted.