Abstract: In a packet switched network, the link having the lowest cost to a certain destination is obtained. For each link to the destination, the link cost is calculated based on at least two parameters, the link having the lowest link cost is selected. The calculated link costs are stored in a routing table. The parameters used comprise the maximum cell transfer delay (CTD), the peak-to-peak Cell Delay Variation (CDV), the Available Cell Rate (AvCR), the Maximum Cell Rate (MCR) and the Cell Loss Ratio (CLR). An Administrative Weight (AW) may also be included. Each parameter may be weighted by a weighting factor (k1, k2, . . . , k6) and scaled by an exponent (&agr;, &bgr;, &ggr;, &dgr;, &egr;). The sum of link costs and certain non-additive parameters is used to calculate path costs.