Patent ID: 7826462
Filing Date: 2010-11-02
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. An address assignment apparatus that assigns an address to a communication node that constitutes an ad-hoc network, the address assignment apparatus comprising: a storage unit that stores therein address management information indicating addresses assigned to existing communication nodes in the ad-hoc network; a determining unit that, upon receipt of a request to connect to the ad-hoc network from an external communication node, obtains information on an address assigned to the external communication node, and determines whether the address is already used by any of the existing communication nodes based on the address management information; an assignment unit that, when the address is already used, generates a first new address not used by the existing communication nodes, and assigns the first new address to the external communication node, and that, when the address is used by none of the existing communication nodes, receives the address assigned to the external communication node from the assignment unit, and transmits information on the address assigned to the external communication node to the existing communication nodes; and a communication processor that assigns a real address and a virtual address to a first terminal connected to one of communication nodes connected to the ad-hoc network, the virtual address uniquely identifying the first terminal, and, upon receipt from the first terminal of a request to connect to a second terminal connected to another one of the communication nodes, converts the virtual address to the real address to establish communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.