Patent ID: 7231452

Claim:
A communication protocol interface (CPI) for communicating a variety of data packets that comply with a corresponding variety of communication protocols on a communication network, the CPI comprising: a first communication protocol processor comprising: a first input for receiving a data packet that complies with a first of the variety of communication protocols; a second input for receiving a resultant data packet that complies with the first of the variety of communication protocols; a first output for providing the data packet when the data packet is addressed to a subnet associated with the CPI, and the first output for providing the resultant data packet when the resultant data packet is addressed to the subnet associated with the CPI; and a second output for providing the data packet when the data packet is addressed beyond the subnet associated with the CPI; a second communication protocol processor comprising: a first input for receiving another data packet that complies with a second of the variety of communication protocols; a second input for receiving another resultant data packet that complies with the second of the variety of communication protocols; a first output for providing the another data packet when the another data packet is addressed to the CPI, and for providing the another resultant data packet; and a second output for providing the another data packet when the another data packet is addressed to the subnet associated with the CPI; and a protocol converter comprising: a first input coupled to the second output of the first communication protocol processor for receiving the data packet, and the protocol converter for converting the data packet to the another resultant data packet; a first output coupled to the second input of the second communication protocol processor for providing the another resultant data packet to the second communication protocol processor; a second input coupled to the second output of the second communication protocol processor for receiving the another data packet, and the protocol converter for converting the another data packet to the resultant data packet; and a second output coupled to the second input of the first communication protocol processor for providing the resultant data packet to the first communication protocol processor; a communication backbone which complies with an IPv6 protocol; wherein the protocol converter comprises an encapsulator coupled to the first input and to the first output, the encapsulator for encapsulating the data packet to produce the another resultant data packet; wherein the encapsulator is adapted to provide the another resultant data packet having the destination address with the first part derived from the address of the CPI, a second predetermined part, and a third part derived from at least a portion of the destination address of the data packet, when the data packet is for communication beyond the communication network.