Patent ID: 7561540

Claim:
A method of dynamically adding a routing element to a distributed communications network comprising: establishing an ATM virtual connection with an existing distribution point already part of the communications network; requesting an ATM end user address from the existing distribution point; obtaining an ATM end user address from the existing distribution point, the ATM end user address allocated from a pool of ATM end user addresses in the existing distribution point; requesting an IP address from the existing distribution point; obtaining an IP address from the existing distribution point, the IP address allocated from a pool of IP addresses in the existing distribution point; requesting a pool of ATM end user addresses from an address server; receiving a pool of ATM end user addresses from the address server; requesting a pool of IP addresses from the address server; and receiving a pool of IP addresses from the address server; whereby an ATM end user address from the pool of ATM end user addresses and an IP address from the pool of IP addresses are assigned to a new routing element requesting to be added to the communications network.