Patent ID: 7437474
Filing Date: 2008-10-14
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A network gateway, comprising: a public network interface having at least one public address; a private network interface having at least one private address; a network protocol stack to provide one of the public addresses of the network gateway in response to a request to the gateway for a network address by each of one or more applications executing on private clients connected to the private network interface; and a processor that reviews a destination address of a first packet received at the private network interface, the first packet being sent from a first private client connected to the private network interface, and routes the first packet to a second private client connected to the private network interface when the destination address of the first packet corresponds to a first public address of the gateway that the network protocol stack provided to one of the applications executing on the second private client, in which the first and second private clients share a private addressing scheme, wherein the processor also reviews a destination address of a second packet received at the private network interface, the second packet being sent from the second private client, and routes the second packet to the first private client when the destination address of the second packet corresponds to a second public address of the gateway that the network protocol stack provided to one of the applications executing on the first private client.