Patent ID: 7590849

Claim:
A method for operating a communication terminal for packet-oriented data transmission, the method comprising: depositing a public key of a first control unit such that at least one second control unit is able to access the public key; providing status information to a communication terminal, the status information comprising a digital signature calculated from status information of the communication terminal by a private key of the first control unit, the first control unit being associated with the communication terminal for the resolution and/or conversion of network addresses; storing the status information in a memory unit associated with the communication terminal; transmitting a request to associate the communication terminal with at least one second control unit if the first control unit fails, the request comprising the status information and the digital signature; checking the digital signature with the at least one second control unit, the at least one second control unit configured to access the public key of the first control unit to check the digital signature; and associating the communication terminal with the at least one second control unit if the checking of the digital signal results in a positive check result.