Patent ID: 7340530

Claim:
A method for providing secure communications over a network in a distributed workload environment having target hosts which are accessed through a distribution processor by a common network address, the method comprising the steps of: receiving at the distribution processor, network communications directed to the common network address; determining whether the network communications are secure network communications; processing secure network communications by: routing both inbound and outbound communications with target hosts which are associated with an end-to-end secure network communication through the distribution processor; processing both inbound and outbound end-to-end secure network communications at the distribution processor so as to provide endpoint network security processing of communications from the target host to the distribution processor and endpoint network security processing of communications from the distribution processor to the target host such that the distribution processor serves as an endpoint for the end-to-end secure network communication; and distributing the received secure network communications that are directed to the common network address among selected ones of the target hosts so as to distribute workload associated with the network communications among the target hosts including encapsulating communications between the distribution processor and the selected ones of the plurality of target hosts which are associated with end-to-end secure network communications so as to distinguish communications between the distribution processor and the selected ones of the plurality of target hosts which are associated with secure network communications from other communications; and processing non-secure communications by distributing the received network communications that are directed to the common network address among the target hosts so as to distribute workload associated with the network communications among the target hosts.