Abstract: An intelligent routing algorithm FOA (Forward-only Agent) is proposed for the direct interconnection networks. In FOA, only forward agents are used to update the routing information related to their source node while traveling to their destination. A precise model considering various types of delay is used to calculate the trip time taken by the forward agent. Besides, packets are routed randomly based on the goodness of a neighbor which is measured by not only the routing information recorded in the routing table but also the current link condition so as to reach load balance. Simulations were carried out with OPNET software in the k-ary n-cube networks in which virtual cut through switching mechanism is used. The results show that FOA achieves a better performance than other popular algorithms such as DOR, Duato’s algorithm and GAL with a lower delay and a higher throughput.

Key words: direct interconnection networks, routing algorithm, load balance