Patent ID: 8189468

Claim:
A method for interconnecting networks, said method comprising: receiving a message from a sending device of a first network to be communicated to a target device of a second network; determining an identifier associated with the sending device; determining whether the sending device is authorized to communicate with the target device based on the identifier; responsive to a determination that the sending device is authorized to communicate with the target device, determining a command request contained in the message; identifying in a policy a list of allowable commands that the sending device may perform on the target device; determining whether the command request contained in the message is on the list of allowable commands that the sending device may perform on the target device; and responsive to a determination that the command request contained in the message is on the list of allowable commands that the sending device may perform on the target device, communicating the message to the target device of the second network; responsive to a determination that the command request contained in the message is on the list of allowable commands that the sending device may perform on the target device, determining whether the command request on the target device exceeds a threshold for performing the command request on the target device prior to communicating the message to the target device of the second network; and responsive to the command request on the target device not exceeding the threshold for performing the command request on the target device, communicating the message to the target device of the second network.