Patent ID: 7165112

Claim:
A method for transmitting data by a first communication device, the method comprising steps of: receiving at the first communication device a message in a socket abstraction layer from a second communication device wherein the message comprises socket information and that requests an establishment of a virtual connection between the second communication device and a destination device based on the socket information, and wherein the socket information comprises destination information without identifying the second communication device; translating the message requesting an establishment of a virtual connection to a connection request wherein the connection request identifies the second communication device; routing the connection request from the first communication device to the destination device identified by the socket information, wherein a virtual connection is established between the second communication device and the destination device, based on the connection request; receiving at the first communication device a data packet from the second communication device wherein the data packet comprises a payload and does not include at least a portion the socket information identifying the destination device; generating at the first communication device a header in the socket abstraction layer that comprises missing socket information identifying the second communication device; adding the header to the payload to produce a modified data packet; and routing the modified data packet to the identified destination device.