Patent ID: 7996563

Claim:
A computer program product for selecting one or more real IP6 addresses from a pool of real IP6 addresses in a system, each of said real IP6 addresses being associated with one or more physical interfaces, said program product comprising: a computer readable storage non-transitory medium; first program instructions for receiving from a human or an application program a symbolic IP6 address specifying (a) a name of a physical interface or an identifier for a physical interface, (b) an address type and (c) an address scope; and second program instructions, responsive to said physical interface name being specified in said symbolic address, to read a control block or data file maintained by said system for the named physical interface, said control block or data file containing a list of one or more real IP6 addresses for said named physical interface, said second program instructions being responsive to said interface identifier being specified in said symbolic address, to compare said interface identifier to one or more real IP6 addresses in said pool to determine which of said real IP6 addresses in said pool match(es) said physical interface identifier; and third program instructions to compare said address type specified in said symbolic address to one or more real IP6 addresses in said pool to determine which of said real IP6 addresses in said pool matches said address type; and fourth program instructions to compare said address scope specified in said symbolic address to one or more real IP6 addresses in said pool to determine which of said real IP6 addresses in said pool matches said address scope; fifth program instructions, responsive to (a) said second program instructions reading said control block data file or comparing said interface identifier, (b) said third program instructions comparing said address type, and (c) said fourth program instructions comparing said address scope, to designate for said named or identified physical interface one or more real IP6 addresses such that a subsequent message addressed to said one or more real IP6 addresses designated for said named physical interface will be forwarded to said named physical interface; and wherein said first, second, third, fourth and fifth program instructions are stored on said a computer readable storage non-transitory medium.