Patent ID: 7404207

Claim:
A system for managing secure network connections among multiple FABs and OEMs, comprising: a connection hub external to the FABs and the OEMs, the connection hub comprising: a first plurality of VPN devices, one for each of a plurality of FABs; a second plurality of VPN devices, one for each of a plurality of OEMs; a first plurality of dedicated isolation LANs, each one coupled to one of said first plurality of VPN devices; a second plurality of dedicated isolation LANs, each one coupled to one of said second plurality of VPN devices; and an e-diagnostic LAN, coupled to said first and second pluralities of dedicated isolation LANs, and operative to connect any OEM to any FAB according to authorization rules wherein each OEM and FAB need only maintain a single connection to the connection hub to communicate with multiple FABs and OEMs, respectively.