Protocol circuit layer

Abstract

A protocol circuit layer is described. The protocol circuit layer may employ a routing layer to determine optimal routes when establishing a circuit. The circuit layer may employ a link layer to send data packets over links to other network nodes. A naming layer may employ circuits to establish a distributed database of associations between network node addresses and their network locations.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system that enables network communications over circuits defined by a plurality of nodes, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of nodes are communicatively coupled together via at least one leg, and wherein each of the circuits are defined by a source node and a destination node that are interconnected via a series of the nodes, and wherein each circuit is uniquely identified by a circuit identifier (ID), wherein each node of a circuit is configured to:
 add to a circuit table at least one circuit that the node is a member of,
 wherein the circuit table identifies the at least one circuit by its circuit ID, and 
 wherein the circuit table includes a tuple that has an identifier of the source node, an identifier of the destination node, an identifier of a source service from the source node, and an identifier of a destination service to the destination node; and 
   scan a leg table to return an incoming leg and an outgoing leg that are associated with the at least one circuit,   wherein the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node are members of the at least one circuit identified in the circuit table.