Patent ID: 7987289

Claim:
One or more computer-readable storage devices that store executable instructions to perform a method of participating in a network cloud, the method comprising: sending a request to join said network cloud that is administered by an administrator; after said request has been approved, receiving, by a device that is not trusted by said administrator, a parameter that governs said device's participation in said network cloud, said parameter specifying (a) that said device is not allowed to transit data from one node in the cloud to another node in the cloud, (b) limits on which paths the device is allowed to specify for data that originates outside of the cloud, and (c) that said device is not allowed to specify a path for any data that said device receives from any node in the cloud; based on a map of said network cloud, selecting a path to a first node in said network cloud, said path specifying a next hop that is either said first node or a second node in said network cloud from which said first node is directly or indirectly reachable; inserting, into a frame that comprises data that has not been received by said device from any node in said network cloud, a tag that describes said path; and sending said frame to said next hop; the parameter that governs said device's participation in the network cloud being enforced by nodes in the cloud that are trusted by said administrator, enforcement being performed by said nodes' rejection of paths that violate any terms of said device's participation that are specified by said parameter.