Patent ID: 7328237

Claim:
A method of processing incoming packets from a plurality of clients for distribution among a plurality of servers in a data network, the method comprising: generating a modified destination IP address of a first packet using a virtual IP address received in response to a DNS look-up request, by execution of an IP address modification application at a first client, wherein the modified destination IP address includes embedded source-side information derived using encrypted keys in conjunction with the IP address modification application; configuring the first client to access one or more specific DNS servers based on rights and privileges of the first client; receiving a first packet from the first client; the first packet including a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address field in a header portion of the packet, the destination IP address field having a subfield for embedding source-side information including one or more of user-specific data, user preference data, requested content, first client priority information, and first client privilege information; analyzing the destination IP address field of the first packet to identify source-side information embedded therein; selecting, using said identified source-side information, an appropriate server from the plurality of servers; and forwarding the first packet to the appropriate server.