US Patent 10979346 Hybrid hub-and-spoke communications network with hub-bypass communications paths

A hybrid hub-and-spoke communications network with hub-bypass communications paths is disclosed. An edge router receives, from a first origination network gateway node, a first packet destined for a first destination network gateway node. The edge router is communicatively coupled to a hybrid hub-and-spoke and hub-bypass data communications network. The edge router determines that the first packet is to be routed to the first destination network gateway node via a first hub-bypass communications path of the hybrid hub-and-spoke and hub-bypass data communications network. The edge router adds one or more segment identifiers to a header of the first packet that defines the first hub-bypass communications path, and sends the header and the first packet to the first spoke router.