Patent ID: 7609691

Claim:
A method for automatically interconnecting IPv4 networks across an IPv6 network, the method comprising: receiving an IPv4 packet at an ingress router in the IPv6 network, wherein the ingress router is located at an edge of the IPv6 network and is in communication with one of the IPv4 networks; finding a longest match IPv4 routing entry for IPv4 addresses in the received packet at the ingress router, to identify an egress router in the IPv6 network; encapsulating at the ingress router, the IPv4 packet to create an IPv6 packet, wherein destination and source addresses of the encapsulated packet identify a subnet router anycast corresponding to the ingress router and the egress router in the IPv6 network; and forwarding at the ingress router, the encapsulated packet over the IPv6 network via IPv6-only routers to the egress router.