segment routing

### Segment Routing Overview Segment Routing (SR) is a source-routing paradigm designed to simplify traffic engineering within computer networks. In SR, paths through the network are defined by imposing segments on packets at their origin point[^4]. Each segment represents either an adjacency or a node in the path from sender to receiver. #### Key Concepts of Segment Routing - **Segments**: These can be thought as instructions given to routers about how data should travel across specific parts of the network. - **SID (Segment Identifier)**: A unique identifier assigned to each segment which helps routers understand what action needs to take place when processing this particular part of the route[^5]. - **Source Routing**: The decision-making process regarding the exact path taken occurs primarily at the ingress router rather than intermediate nodes along the way[^6]. ```python def send_packet_with_segment_routing(packet, sids): """ Simulate sending a packet using segment routing :param packet: Data payload being sent over network :param sids: List of SIDs defining the explicit path """ current_hop = 0 while sids: next_sid = sids.pop(0) forward_to_next_router(next_sid, packet) current_hop += 1 def forward_to_next_router(sid, packet): # Logic for forwarding based on SID goes here... pass ``` In comparison with traditional bridging methods mentioned earlier where there might exist certain limitations such as increased latencies due to overlays[^2], segment routing offers more efficient ways to manage traffic flows directly without introducing additional layers between endpoints.