Patent ID: 7463633

Claim:
A method of switching IP (Internet Protocol) packets at a packet switching system, comprising the steps of: allocating a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) to a pair including an IP address and a port number in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Program Protocol (UDP); and outputting IP packets whose headers have the IP address and the port number via a Virtual Connection (VC) corresponding to the VCI when the packet switching system receives the IP packets, wherein if IP packet headers have a certain part identical with previously input IP packets, then the allocated VCI is the same as a VCI allocated to the previously input IP packets, wherein if the certain part of the IP packet headers is different from the previously input IP packets, then the allocated VCI is an idle VCI, wherein the VC is included in a Virtual Path (VP), and wherein all IP packets are transmitted, not according to the VCI, but according to a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) of the VP by transit nodes in an ATM network.