An adaptive network routing method by electrical-circuit modeling

A routing control method called potential routing is proposed for packet communication in computer networks. Potential routing models a computer network as an electrical circuit, and performs packet routing according to the potential differences between adjacent nodes. The node potentials are first given by Kirchhoff´s law and are then dynamically adjusted according to the traffic situation. Potential routing can be applied to arbitrary network topologies; it takes account of the global network topology in determining the route. The routing table is easily and therefore quickly computed by Kirchhoff´s law, by solving simple simultaneous equations; no convergence problem arises. Moreover, potential routing does not involve the ping-pong (loop) problem. It is verified by simulation that potential routing shortens transmission delays, especially when the traffic is heavy or unbalanced