Routing methods, systems, and computer program products for using specific identifiers to transmit data

What is this patent about?

’625 is related to the field of network routing and addressing, specifically within label switching environments. It addresses the limitations of global addressing schemes, such as IPv4 and IPv6, by proposing a system where nodes utilize identifiers that are contextually relevant to specific regions or individual nodes rather than relying on a globally unique address space. This approach aims to mitigate latency and scalability issues inherent in traditional internet protocols by redefining how names, addresses, and routes are mapped across a network topology.

The underlying idea behind ’625 is the implementation of a node-specific identifier space, where the meaning of a protocol address is defined solely by the context of the node currently processing the packet. Instead of a fixed global destination, the invention uses a relative addressing mechanism where each node translates an incoming identifier into a corresponding identifier recognized by the next hop in the path. This creates a localized mapping chain that allows for efficient data forwarding without requiring every node to maintain a comprehensive global routing table.

The claims of ’625 focus on an apparatus and method for managing data transmission in a label switching network by mapping identifiers between different scope-specific address spaces. Specifically, the independent claims describe a current node that receives information identifying a particular node in a next node's identifier space, maps it to a local identifier, and stores this association. When a packet arrives, the current node uses its local identifier to locate the stored association, translates the identifier back to the next node's context, and forwards the data along the identified network path.

In practice, this system functions by having nodes exchange information to establish a path-based protocol address composed of multiple path segment identifiers. When a packet traverses the network, the current node identifies the next network interface by evaluating the segment of the address relevant to its own position. This allows the network to operate using nested protocol addresses, where each layer of the address provides the specific routing instructions needed for a particular hop, effectively embedding the route within the address itself.

This invention differs from prior approaches by challenging the traditional distinction between an address (where a node is) and a route (how to get there). While standard IP routing requires a lookup against a global prefix, ’625 utilizes region-scoped node identifiers that may be identical across different nodes but carry different meanings based on the local scope. By using these relative, localized identifiers, the system reduces the overhead of global address management and enables more flexible, topology-aware routing that can adapt to the specific physical or logical layout of the network.