Patent ID: 6957346

Claim:
A method for securely communicating packets between a first computer device and a second computer device through a packet-switched data transmission network comprising intermediate computer devices, where at least one of said intermediate computer devices may perform a network address translation or a protocol conversion resulting in alteration of a packet propagating therethrough, the method comprising the steps of determining what network address translations or protocol conversions, if any, occur on packets transmitted in a data path between said first computer device and the said second computer device on packets transmitted between said first computer device and said second computer device, if it is found that network address translations or protocol conversions occur in said data path between said first computer device and said a second computer device, taking packets conforming to a first protocol and using said first computer device to encapsulate them into packets conforming to a second protocol, which said second protocol being capable of traversing network address translations and protocol conversions, transmitting said packets conforming to said second protocol from said first computer device to said second computer device; and decapsulating said transmitted packets conforming to said second protocol into packets conforming to said first protocol.