Patent ID: 7974201

Claim:
An apparatus for routing packets from a first network node to a second network node in a data network, comprising: means for assigning and then sending a unique first node identifier (ID) to the first node, wherein the unique first node ID is assigned and sent in response to a request from the first node for an identity assignment, and wherein a first virtual private network (VPN) is provisioned by the apparatus for the unique first node ID and an association between the first VPN and the unique first node ID is maintained by the apparatus; means for receiving a packet from the first node, said packet including the unique first node ID and routing information for routing said packet to a destination address associated with said second node; and means for routing the received packet to the destination address based on the received routing information, the received unique first node ID and its association with the first VPN, and the destination address being associated with the first VPN.