Patent ID: 7890633

Claim:
A method of routing data over a network, said network comprising a physical network and a virtual network, said method comprising the steps of: associating a range of virtual IP addresses within said virtual network with a single real IP address, said range of virtual IP addresses including consecutive virtual IP addresses, said single real IP address identifying a physical component in the network; storing a record of said range of virtual IP addresses and said association with the single real IP address in a network-accessible location; and routing data sent from an originating virtual IP address on said network, said routing step comprising: when said data is addressed to a destination address within said range of virtual IP addresses, resolving the destination address into said single real IP address using said association; encapsulating said data and said virtual IP destination address within a packet addressed to said single real IP address; sending said packet to the resolved single real IP address; and sending said data to a default destination address upon failing to resolve said destination address into the single real IP address.