Patent ID: 7392538
Filing Date: 2008-06-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. An in-home network system including a firewall and an information apparatus, wherein the firewall comprises: first communication means connected to a first network for transmitting and receiving data through the first network by use of an IPv6 protocol; means for acquiring a first network identifier of the first network, wherein the first network identifier of the first network is included in an IPv6 address, the IPv6 address having 128 bits and the first network identifier being included as a first 64 bit prefix in the IPv6 address; second communication means connected to a second network for transmitting and receiving data through the second network by use of the IPv6 protocol; means for acquiring a second network identifier of the second network, wherein the second network identifier of the second network is included in an IPv6 address, the IPv6 address having 128 bits and the second network identifier being included as a second 64 bit prefix in the IPv6 address; IPv6 address converting means by which a portion of a destination IPv6 address of a first message received from an apparatus connected to the first network and corresponding to the first network identifier is converted to the second network identifier, and by which a portion of a source IPv6 address of a second message received from an information apparatus connected to the second network and corresponding to the second network identifier is converted to the first network identifier, whereby communication can occur between the apparatus connected to the first network and the information apparatus connected to the second network; and an IPv6 address generation processing module configured to generate a first registration IPv6 address based on the second network identifier and an apparatus identifier of the information apparatus, wherein the first registration IPv6 address is registered by the firewall; and wherein the information apparatus includes: communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the firewall by use of the IPv6 protocol; means for acquiring the second network identifier of the second network; means for generating a second registration IPv6 address based on the second network identifier and the apparatus identifier of the information apparatus, wherein the second registration IPv6 address is registered by the firewall; communication means for transmitting the second registration IPv6 address thus generated to the firewall; communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the apparatus connected to the first network through the firewall by use of the IPv6 protocol; means for extracting the portion corresponding to the first network identifier of the source IPv6 address of the first message received from the firewall, the message originating from the apparatus connected to the first network; and means for deciding that the first message received is acceptable if the extracted network identifier matches the second network identifier of an IPv6 address of the information apparatus, wherein the extracted network identifier corresponds to the first 64 bit prefix of the IPv6 address of the apparatus connected to the first network and the second network identifier corresponds to the second 64 bit prefix of the IPv6 address of the information apparatus.