A routing protocol for finding two node-disjoint paths in computer networks

TLDR

The paper proposes a routing protocol that finds two node‑disjoint paths between every pair of nodes in a computer network. The protocol operates locally at each node using spanning‑tree based kernel construction, synchronizing procedures with only local topology information. The protocol remains operational after topology or load changes, provides alternate routes and load splitting, and can efficiently update disjoint paths when topology changes damage them.

Abstract

In this paper, we present a routing protocol for finding two node-disjoint paths between each pair of nodes in a computer network. In the proposed protocol, each node in the network has the same procedure, which is driven by local information with respect to the network topology such as an adjacent node on a spanning tree in the network. Thus, the execution of the protocol can continue after changes of the network topology and load. The concept of spanning tree-based kernel construction is introduced to synchronize procedures under the distributed control of the protocol. The routing scheme based on the protocol possesses the enhanced capabilities of alternate routes and load splitting, which cope with failures and load variations in the network. Furthermore, even if topology changes occur which damage the obtained disjoint paths, the paths themselves can be updated efficiently.