A flood routing method for data networks

A new routing algorithm based on a flooding method is introduced. Flooding techniques have been used previously, e.g. for broadcasting the routing table in the ARPAnet and other special purpose networks. However, sending data using flooding can often saturate the network and it is usually regarded as an inefficient broadcast mechanism. Our approach is to flood a very short packet to explore an optimal route without relying on a preestablished routing table, and an efficient flood control algorithm to reduce the signalling traffic overhead. This is an inherently robust mechanism in the face of a network configuration change, it achieves automatic load sharing across alternative routes, and has the potential to solve contemporary routing problems. An version of this mechanism was originally developed for virtual circuit establishment in the experimental Caroline ATM LAN at Monash University.