US Patent 8630185 Optimizing traffic in a data network

Systems and methods for optimizing traffic in a data network. Network traffic may be optimized by associating costs with data links that connect network nodes. A set of lowest cost paths between a source network node and a destination network node may be determined by analyzing paths in the data network. An explored path may be extended to another network node based on whether the other network node is able to reach the destination network node without forming a loop with the explored path.