Patent ID: 7983280

Claim:
A method for distributing a session key across GateKeeper (GK) zones in a direct-routing mode, comprising: receiving, at a caller's GK, an Admission Request (ARQ) message generated by a caller, the ARQ message including information capable of identifying session key distribution modes supported by the caller; selecting, by the caller's GK, one of at least three session key distribution modes to use based at least in part on the information in received ARQ message; sending, by the caller's GK, a Location Request (LRQ) message to a callee's GK, the LRQ message including information capable of identifying the selected session key distribution mode; receiving, at the caller's GK, a Location Confirm (LCF) message, the LCF message including a session key generated by the callee's GK in accordance with the selected session key distribution mode; and sending, by the caller's GK, the session key to the caller, the session key operable for use between the caller and the callee.