A method of routing traffic through a packet network having a mesh physical topography. At least two types of network primitive are defined, each type of network primitive providing a respective model of traffic forwarding through at least two neighbor nodes of the network. A network model encompassing at least a portion of the network is constructed using a set of two or more interconnected network primitives. The network model has nodes and links corresponding to respective nodes and lines of the network. Respective forwarding information is computed for each node of the network model. For each node of the network model, the respective computed forwarding information is installed in a forwarding database of the corresponding node of the network, such that traffic is forwarded by each node of the network in accordance with the respective computed forwarding information.