Installation of time slots for sending a packet through an ARC chain topology network

A network node, comprising:

• one or more processing elements;
• memory;
• one or more interfaces configured to send and receive packets;
• and
• wherein said one or more processing elements are configured to perform operations, including:
• determining sending and receiving time slots for progressively communicating a particular packet among nodes of an arc of an Available Routing Construct (ARC) chain topology network in both directions on the arc to reach each edge node of the arc, with the arc including at least three nodes;
• and
• determining for each edge node of the arc a predetermined respective time slot for communicating the particular packet to a respective child node on a second arc of the ARC chain topology network, with the second arc including a plurality of nodes;
• wherein the ARC chain topology network includes nodes communicatively coupled to forward packets according to an ARC chain topology through the ARC chain topology network, with the ARC chain topology network including nodes communicatively coupled to form a plurality of arcs communicatively coupled together according to the ARC chain topology, and with the plurality of arcs including the arc and the second arc.

A method comprising:

• determining, by a particular networked device, sending and receiving time slots from an origin node of an arc within an Available Routing Construct (ARC) chain topology network to each of first and second end nodes of the arc by progressively traversing each of a left and right direction through the arc from the origin node through one or more non-edge first nodes in between the origin and the first end node and from the origin node through one or more non-edge second nodes in between the origin and the second end node according to an ARC chain topology of the ARC chain topology network, including splicing a same timeslot for sending the packet by a first node of two adjacent nodes and receiving the packet by a second of said two adjacent nodes in the arc;
• determining a first timeslot for the first end node to send to a first child node on a second arc within the ARC chain topology network;
• and
• determining a second timeslot for the second end node to send to a second child node on the second arc within the ARC chain topology network.