Patent ID: 8144688

Claim:
A method comprising: monitoring, by a network monitoring system, packets communicated among a plurality of source and destination devices in a network using a protocol that supports multihoming, wherein an association between a source device and a destination device for communication with each other during a communication session is defined by a first combination of parameters having a first set of values, and wherein said network monitoring system is disposed in said network independent of said source and destination devices; resolving by the network monitoring system, based upon the determined first combination of parameters having said first set of values, a combination of source and destination verification tags that further defines the association, wherein the resolved combination of source and destination verification tags enables said network monitoring system to ascertain whether monitored packets belong to the association even when one or more of the values of the first combination of parameters has changed during the communication session; and wherein said resolving is performed by the network monitoring system without use by the network monitoring system of packets exchanged between the source and destination devices for setting up a multi-homing association.