Patent ID: 8331369

Claim:
A method to distribute network Internet Protocol traffic, the method comprising: receiving a first Internet Protocol control packet at an input of a first server, the first Internet Protocol control packet being received from a physical router based on a forwarding table in the physical router that initially causes the first Internet Protocol control packet to be routed from the physical router to the first server; selecting a first logical router within a router array of multiple logical routers logically included within the physical router to send the first Internet Protocol control packet, the first server selecting the first logical router by matching a destination Internet Protocol address of the first Internet Protocol control packet to a first Internet Protocol address subspace associated with the first logical router; transmitting the first Internet Protocol control packet to the first logical router; updating the forwarding table in the physical router by associating the destination Internet Protocol address of the first Internet Protocol control packet with a first control path from the physical router to the first logical router, the first control path being determined based on routing of the first Internet Protocol control packet from the physical router to the first logical router through the first server, the updating of the forwarding table to cause subsequent Internet Protocol data packets associated with the first Internet Protocol control packet to be forwarded from the physical router to the first logical router via the first control path without being routed through the first server; and determining a first interface for the first logical router to return the first Internet Protocol control packet from the first logical router to the physical router.