Patent ID: 7478173
Filing Date: 2009-01-13
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for sharing a network connection between a host software system and a virtual machine, the network connection connecting a single physical computer system to a computer network, the host software system and the virtual machine both executing within the single physical computer system, with a first layer 2 address being associated with the network connection, the method comprising: allowing the host software system to use the network connection using the first layer 2 address and a first layer 3 address; allowing the virtual machine to attempt to use the network connection using a second layer 2 address and a second layer 3 address, the second layer 2 address being different from the first layer 2 address and the second layer 3 address being different from the first layer 3 address; for an outgoing data frame from the virtual machine to the computer network, replacing an occurrence of the second layer 2 address within the outgoing data frame with the first layer 2 address, so that the data frame appears to have originated from a network entity using the first layer 2 address and the second layer 3 address; and for an incoming data frame from the computer network, if the data frame is addressed using the first layer 2 address and the second layer 3 address, replacing the first layer 2 address with the second layer 2 address and conveying the data frame toward the virtual machine, so that, after modification, the incoming data frame appears to have been addressed to the virtual machine, using the second layer 2 address and the second layer 3 address.