Patent ID: 7675914

Claim:
A relay information processing method wherein a first communication terminal sets and/or deletes first relay information included in relay information stored by a relay device that connects a first network and a second network, and the first relay information relaying a packet transmitted from a second communication terminal on said second network to said first communication terminal on said first network, the method comprising: a duplicate determining step wherein said first communication terminal acquires second relay information, which is already set in said relay device, prior to setting or deleting said first relay information in said relay device, and determines whether said relay information duplicates said first relay information; a requesting step wherein said first communication terminal transmits a request to set or a request to delete said first relay information to said relay device only if it was determined that there is no duplication in said duplicate determining step; and a relay information updating step wherein said relay device stores said first relay information or deletes said first relay information from said relay information in accordance with said setting request or said deletion request; wherein each of said first and second relay information comprises a first parameter that includes at least port number information possessed by said relay device on said second network; a second parameter that is the address of a communication terminal on said first network; and a third parameter that includes port number information of the communication terminal on said first network; said method further comprising: a transferring step wherein said relay device transfers data that arrives at a port specified by said first parameter to a port specified by said third parameter from amongst the ports possessed by the communication terminal specified by said second parameter.