Patent ID: 8776202

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, with a first network device from a second network device, a signaling message to open a pinhole that, when open, allows a media flow originating from a source endpoint and received from the second network device to pass through the first network device toward a destination endpoint, the signaling message comprising: a token that authorizes the first network device to open the pinhole; a data field that identifies a source transport address of the source endpoint; a first indicator; and a second indicator; determining, with the first network device, a media flow source transport address for the first network device to use to allow the media flow originating from the source endpoint and received from the second network device to pass through toward the destination endpoint when the pinhole is open, wherein determining the media flow source transport address comprises determining the media flow source transport address to be the source transport address of the source endpoint identified in the data field instead of a source transport address of the second network device from which the signaling message was received in response to the first indicator indicating that the data field represents the source transport address of the source endpoint and the second indicator indicating that the first network device should determine the media flow source transport address from the data field; opening the pinhole in response to determining that the token is authentic; receiving, with the first network device from the second network device, the media flow identifying the source transport address of the source endpoint instead of the source transport address of the second network device; and when the pinhole is open, sending, with the first network device, the media flow identifying the source transport address of the source endpoint toward the destination endpoint.