Patent ID: 7650427

Claim:
A machine-implemented method for enabling communication between nodes, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a handshake phase initiation request that originated from a particular client node and was intercepted by a load-balancing node; and engaging in a handshake phase with the particular client node using IPv6 mobility features to allow communication with the particular client node without further intervention by the load-balancing node; wherein receiving the handshake phase initiation request comprises receiving, at a server node that is associated with a first Internet Protocol (IP) address, a first IP packet that contains a second IP packet that: (a) indicates, as a destination IP address, a second IP address that differs from the first IP address, (b) indicates, as a source IP address, a third IP address, and (c) contains a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) SYN packet; and wherein engaging in the handshake phase comprises sending, toward the particular client node that is associated with the third IP address, a third IP packet that: (a) contains a TCP SYN/ACK packet, and (b) contains an IPv6 Mobility Header that contains a Binding Update option; wherein the Binding Update option indicates, in a Lifetime field, a value that is greater than zero; wherein the presence of the value in the Lifetime field causes the client node to establish a cache entry comprising the first IP address and the second IP address locally within an IP layer cache; wherein the cache entry remains in the IP layer cache for a period of time commensurate with the value indicated in the Lifetime field; wherein the second IP address is a virtual IP address that is associated with a server cluster of a plurality of nodes that includes the server node.