Abstract: In one embodiment, a method comprises creating, in a computing network, a loop-free routing topology comprising a plurality of routing arcs for reaching a destination device, each routing arc comprising a first network device as a first end of the routing arc, a second network device as a second end of the routing arc, and at least a third network device configured for routing any network traffic along the routing arc toward the destination device via any one of the first or second ends of the routing arc; and load balancing the network traffic along the routing arcs based on traffic metrics obtained at the first and second ends of the routing arcs, including selectively sending a backpressure command to a first one of the routing arcs supplying at least a portion of the network traffic to a congested one of the routing arcs.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method comprises creating, in a computing network, a loop-free routing topology comprising a plurality of routing arcs for reaching a destination device, each routing arc comprising a first network device as a first end of the routing arc, a second network device as a second end of the routing arc, and at least a third network device configured for routing any network traffic along the routing arc toward the destination device via any one of the first or second ends of the routing arc; and causing the network traffic to be forwarded along at least one of the routing arcs to the destination device.

Abstract: A method of automatically configuring a port of a network element comprises the steps of discovering information that identifies or describes a second network element that is coupled to a port of a first network element; associating the port with a port role definition selected from a plurality of port role definitions based on the discovered information; retrieving one or more configuration settings that are associated with the selected port role definition; and applying the one or more configuration settings to the port.