US Patent 12120027 Underlay network traffic steering

Techniques for steering overlay network traffic along specific paths through an underlay network. The techniques may include determining a path through an underlay network that is optimized for sending a packet from a first node of an overlay network to a second node of the overlay network. The techniques may also include determining a destination address for sending the packet along the path from the first node to the second node, the destination address including a micro segment identifier (uSID) corresponding with an underlay node that is disposed along the path through the underlay network and trailing bits representing a portion of an address that corresponds with the second node. The techniques may also include causing the packet to be modified to include the destination address such that the packet is sent from the first node to the second node along the path.