Weighted next hop selection at a router using an equal cost multipath process

摘要

A routing technique provides a routing table which assigns weights in the process of selecting a next hop at a router, while still using an equal cost multipath selection process at the router. The routing table is configured to cross reference an IP address prefix set to a number of next hops which can be all, or fewer than all, available next hops. This occurs in each row of the table for a different IP address prefix set. Subsets of the next hops are identified in each row in a manner which results in the next hops being selected according to specified weights. An estimate of traffic to the different IP address prefix set is also considered. The routing table can be configured based on announce and withdraw messages received from a link weight translator of a controller.