Patent ID: 8489751

Claim:
A method of operating a middlebox identity providing device, the middlebox identity providing device for use in a communications network comprising a first address realm, a second address realm and a first middlebox connected between the first address realm and the second address realm, the method comprising: the middlebox identity providing device participating in initiation of a communication session between a first entity in the first address realm and a second entity in the second address realm; and in response to initiation of the communication session between the first user entity and the second user entity, the middlebox identity providing device sending a middlebox-identifying message to a middlebox control node, the middlebox identifying message identifying the first middlebox to the middlebox control node, thereby enabling the middlebox control node to send middlebox control messages associated with the communication session to the first middlebox, wherein the middlebox identity providing device is arranged to be located in a control signal path from said one of the entities to the middlebox control node.