Patent ID: 7230950

Claim:
A system for establishing communication by using a first protocol on top of a network employing a second protocol, comprising: one or more processing units to add data about a layer 3 source address of a flow of data packets to a plurality of address resolution request packets; a plurality of transmitting units to transmit the plurality of address resolution request packets from a plurality of communication nodes in the network, respectively, toward a destination node of the flow of data packets in order to establish a shortcut virtual channel connection (VCC) toward said destination node for the flow of data packets, and a receiving unit to accept said plurality of address resolution request packets from the plurality of the communication nodes in order to establish said shortcut VCC for the flow of data packets, wherein said shortcut VCC is established between said destination node and said communication node remotest from said destination node on said network according to information indicative of hop count values in said address resolution request packets; wherein the plurality of the communication nodes and said destination node each comprise a client, wherein each of said clients adds the data about said layer 3 source address to one of said address resolution request packets and transmits the one of said address resolution request packets to one of the destination node or in the communication node next toward said destination node, wherein at least two communication nodes comprise a server, and each server accepts at least one of said address resolution request packets and when said server is an egress server, said server accepts and detects the plurality of address resolution request packets according to the data about said layer 3 source address and a layer 3 destination address indicated in said address resolution request packets, and wherein when accepting said plurality of address resolution request packets, said server selects said address resolution request packet from said client of said node remotest from said destination node on said network according to hop count values indicated in said plurality of address resolution request packets and establishes the shortcut VCC in response to said selected address resolution recluest packet.