Patent ID: 7756022

Claim:
A method of providing a hidden pathway to a host in an internetwork, wherein the internetwork has a plurality of routers including an egress router that is coupled to said host, wherein each router includes a plurality of ports and a routing table for associating destination addresses with respective ports, and wherein the egress router includes a label table for associating labels with respective ports, said method comprising the steps of: connecting a first port of at least one of the routers to said host; configuring at least one routing table to associate a public address of said host with said first port; connecting a selected port of said egress router to said host as a hidden access port; configuring said label table in said egress router to associate said selected port with a predetermined label; restricting distribution of said predetermined label to one or more controlled access points so that access to said hidden pathway is restricted to said controlled access points; monitoring traffic directed to said host node using IP address routing with an operational support system coupled to said egress router; detecting an overload condition of said traffic; and suspending operation of said IP address routing in response to said overload condition, whereby only packets directed to said hidden port are received by said host node.