Patent ID: 8560646

Claim:
A system, comprising: one or more processors of one or more computing systems; and one or more modules that are each configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, provide networking functionality for a first virtual computer network that is overlaid on one or more substrate networks and that uses a plurality of textual network node monikers as an addressing scheme to designate multiple computing nodes of the first virtual computer network without using any other addressing scheme to designate the multiple computing nodes within the first virtual computer network, each of the multiple computing nodes being associated with a substrate network address for the one or more substrate networks, the providing of the networking functionality including: receiving a network communication that is directed to a destination specified using one of the plurality of textual network node monikers at a networking stack network layer; determining at least one of the multiple computing nodes that is associated with the specified one network node moniker; encoding the network communication in a manner specific to the one or more substrate networks and to indicate as a destination the associated substrate network address of one or more of the determined at least one computing nodes; and sending the encoded network communication to the one or more substrate networks for forwarding to the one or more determined computing nodes based on the associated substrate network address of the one or more determined computing nodes.