The behavior of a node under alternate routing scheme in a homogeneous non-hierarchical network is modeled with respect to the equilibrium states. Under high load intensities, there exist two equilibrium states: one stable and the other unstable. The blocking probability at the stable equilibrium state is higher than that at the unstable one. The evolution of the perturbed system can be found to be dictated by two Liapunov functions. Under one of the Liapunov functions, the system evolves towards the normal state whereas under the other, the system evolves towards the congestion state. Congestion manifests owing to the fold catastrophe in the behavior manifold of the system. Simulation studies indicate that, at certain range of load intensities higher than the rate at the fold point, the throughput exhibits large fluctuations. These fluctuations are interpreted to be resulting from the dynamics of the system specified by the potential function of the system. A performance index, called the Sojourn Ratio (SR), characterizes the behavior of the system beyond the fold point. The ratio SR:(1-SR) is an estimate of the ratio of the duration in which the system is in the domain of the congestion state, to that in which it is in the domain of the normal state. We conjecture that the durations in which the system is in the normal state and in the congestion state are approximately proportional to the height of the potential barriers at the respective states. Accordingly, an analytically obtainable performance index V SR is defined as the ratio of the potential barrier at the congestion state, to the sum of the potential barriers at the normal state and congestion state. Among the characterizations of the system by Maxwell convention, by delay convention and by V SR, it is found that the last one captures best the tendency of SR.