Patent ID: 8150976

Claim:
A method comprising: processing, by a first firewall or by a second firewall that are each active in a high-availability configuration, a request to establish an SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) association between a first multi-homed device having a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and a second multi-homed device having a plurality of IP addresses, wherein the IP addresses of the first multi-homed device are each associated with a respective network interface of the first multi-homed device, and wherein the IP addresses of the second multi-homed device are each associated with a respective network interface of the second multi-homed device; upon establishment of the SCTP association, processing, by at least one of the first firewall and the second firewall, SCTP data messages that are exchanged between the first multi-homed device and the second multi-homed device, wherein the first firewall and the second firewall are each communicatively coupled to both the first multi-homed device and to the second multi-homed device, and wherein the first firewall and the second firewall are each distinct from both the first and second multi-homed devices; storing a copy of state information for the SCTP association on both the first firewall and on the second firewall, wherein the state information includes a complete list of the IP addresses of the first multi-homed device and a complete list of the IP addresses of the second multi-homed device; and securing, by at least one of the first firewall and the second firewall, the SCTP association between the first multi-homed device and the second multi-homed device using the state information.