System and method for integrity reconstitution

A method of communication data in a network, the method comprising:

• receiving a copy of a message on a first channel via at least one of a first port and a second port, the first port coupled to a first neighbor node and the second port coupled to a first neighbor's neighbor node;
• selecting either the copy of the message received via the first port or the copy of the message received via the second port if a copy of the message is received via both the first port and the second port;
• if a copy of the message is only received via one of the first port or the second port, selecting the received copy of the message;
• forwarding the selected copy of the message on the first channel to at least one of a second neighbor node via a third port or a second neighbor's neighbor node via a fourth port;
• determining the integrity of the selected copy of the message based on supplemental integrity data received from another node, wherein the supplemental integrity data is exclusive of a copy of the message communicated on a second channel;
• determining if a received hop count value for the copy of the message received over the first channel is less than zero;
• if the received hop count value is not less than zero, incrementing the received hop count value;
• if the received hop count value is less than zero, setting the hop count value to a default value and incrementing the default value;
• summing the incremented hop count value for the first channel with an incremented hop count value for the second channel;
• and
• accepting the message if the sum is equal to a predetermined allowed value.

A communication node comprising:

• a plurality of ports comprising:
• a first port configured to receive data on a first channel from a first neighbor node adjacent to the node and to communicate data to the first neighbor node on a second channel;
• a second port configured to receive data on the first channel from a first neighbor's neighbor node and to communicate data to the first neighbor's neighbor node on the second channel;
• a third port configured to receive data from a second neighbor node on the second channel and to communicate data to the second neighbor node on the first channel;
• and
• a fourth port configured to receive data from a second neighbor's neighbor node on the second channel and to communicate data to the second neighbor's neighbor node on the first channel;
• wherein the communication node further comprises:
• a controller configured to process data received over one or more of the plurality of ports;
• wherein, when integrity of a message received on the first channel is uncertain, the controller is configured to reconstitute the integrity of the received message based on supplemental integrity data received from another node without comparing the message received on the first channel with a copy of the message received on the second channel;
• wherein the supplemental integrity data includes one of:
• an acknowledgment received from another node in the network that received the selected copy of the message forwarded on the first channel, the acknowledgment indicating that the selected copy of the message forwarded on the first channel matches a copy of the message communicated via an independent path on the second channel;
• or
• first source data received over the first port from the first neighbor node and second source data received over the second port from the first neighbor's neighbor node;
• wherein the first source data identifies over which port the first neighbor node received a copy of the message that the first neighbor node communicated to the first port and the second source data identifies over which port the first neighbor's neighbor node received a copy of the message that the first neighbor's neighbor node communicated to the second port.