Patent ID: 7848310

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, with a device located within a network intermediate to first and second customer networks of a virtual private network, a first routing message that advertises routing information specifying original routing attributes used within the first customer network, wherein the original routing attributes comprise routing attributes defined by a routing protocol, and wherein the first message advertises routing information using the original routing attributes and an autonomous system (AS) number used within the first customer network; defining an attribute set data type for the routing protocol to store the original routing attributes used within the first customer network; outputting, with the device located in the intermediate network, a second routing message that advertises routing information that includes both: (i) a first attribute set that specifies routing attributes used within the intermediate network, and (ii) a second attribute set in accordance with the attribute set data type that specifies the original routing attributes used within the first customer network, wherein the second routing message includes a second attribute set that further specifies the AS number used within the first customer network in accordance with the attribute set data type; comparing the AS number of the first customer network with an AS number used within the second customer network; and selectively utilizing the original routing attributes used within the first customer network instead of the routing attributes used within the intermediate network when communicating the routing information to the second customer network based on the comparison.