Patent ID: 6912222
Filing Date: 2005-06-28
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
1. A packet-switched network, comprising: a Private Network Access Point (PNAP) having a customer side and a service provider side; at least a first customer and a second customer connected to the customer side of the PNAP; at least one service provider connected to the service provider side of the PNAP; and an interconnected network system connected to said service provider and to said first and second customers; wherein said first customer is connected to a service provider who is also connected to the service provider side of the PNAP so that said first customer is multi-homed; wherein said multi-homed customer is provided a routing table listing a plurality of routes to a plurality of destinations in the network, along with a community attribute denoting a preferred reachability of a given route through the service provider; wherein said multi-homed customer can utilize ASimilater data received over a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) feed from the PNAP and send traffic to a destination served by said service provider through said multi-homed customer's connection to said service provider by using said routing table to set route preferences in a router maintained by said multi-homed customer; and wherein traffic between said first and second customers is exchanged through the PNAP without transiting over said service provider.