DISPERSITY ROUTING IN HIGH-SPEED NETWORKS

Dispersity routing distributes the data between a source and destination over several paths through the network, rather than concentrating it on a single path. Non-redundant and redundant dispersity routing techniques are described. By using dispersity routing on virtual circuits, that operate similar to the TASI circuits used in voice networks, long, bursty data sources can share channels without buffering in the network or resequencing packets. This sharing ability is demonstrated by an example that has characteristics and requirements similar to those in medical image transmission. Dispersity routing is better able to deal with unexpected network loads than conventional, single channel systems. This ability is demonstrated by allowing a rogue source to upset the expected statistical utilization of the network.