Patent ID: 7130307

Claim:
A data relay system having a logical tunnel established within a specified public network interposed between a specified backbone network and host devices, which relays data between the backbone network and the host devices through the logical tunnel, the system comprising: a first data relaying apparatus, disposed within the specified public network, for relaying data between the backbone network and the host devices through the logical tunnel established within the public network, the data relaying apparatus comprising a first type determination unit configured to monitor contents of the data laded from the host device and determine a type of the data; a first relay unit configured to relay data through the tunnel when the type of the data is targeted for a single traffic; and a first control processing unit configured to perform control processing on the data without being routed through the tunnel when the data is a predetermined control packet, wherein when the data loaded from said host device is the predetermined control packet, the first data relaying apparatus performs control processing so as to relay the data without routing through the logical tunnel; a second data relay apparatus, disposed within the specified public network for relaying data between the backbone network and the host devices said second data relay apparatus comprising a second type determination unit configured to monitor contents of the data loaded from the backbone network and determine a type of the data; a second relay unit configured to relay data through the tunnel when the type of the data is targeted for a single traffic; and a storage control unit configured to store the data when the type of the data is targeted for broadcast to a particular group; and a third data relay apparatus, disposed within the a specified public network, for relaying data between the backbone network and said host devices, said second data relay apparatus comprising a third type determination unit configured to monitor contents of the data loaded from said host device and determines a type of the data; a third relay unit configured to relay data through the tunnel when the type of the data is targeted for a single traffic; and a second control processing unit configured to control processing on the data without being routed through the tunnel when the data is a predetermined control packet, wherein said second control processing unit of said third data relay apparatus performs control processing so as to relay the data, as a target to be controlled stored by said storage control unit of said first data relay apparatus, to said host device that has issued a specified reception request.