Patent ID: 9577979
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method comprising: intercepting, by a proxy server, a resolution request that has been issued by a first user device operating in a local area network behind a network address translation (NAT) device, wherein the resolution request comprises a name that identifies the first user device within the local area network, and wherein the proxy server is external to the local area network and the NAT device; selecting a unique service IP address for the first user device based on the name that identifies the first user device within the local area network; creating an association between the name that identifies the first user device within the local area network and the unique service IP address; issuing, by the proxy server, a name resolution response containing the unique service IP address to the first user device; receiving, by the proxy server, network communications traffic from the first user device, the network communications traffic destined for the unique service IP address; and identifying the first user device from the network communications traffic received by the proxy server based on the association between the unique service IP address and the name that identifies the first user device within the local area network.