Smart Tunneling to Resources in a Remote Network

• US 20080162726A1
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aventail LLC
• Original Assignee: Aventail LLC
• Inventors: Erickson, Rodger Del, Sauve, Bryan, Hoover, Paul Lawrence
• Granted Patent: US 7,698,388 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4675 Dynamic sharing of VLAN information amongst network nodes configuration of the network or of network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/021 Ensuring consistency of routing table updates, e.g. by using epoch numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5046 Resolving address allocation conflicts; Testing of addresses testing when self-assigning an address H04L61/5092
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A client computer hosts a virtual private network tool to establish a virtual private network connection with a remote network. Upon startup, the virtual private network tool collects critical network information for the client computer, and sends this critical network information to an address assignment server in the remote network. The address assignment server compares the critical network information with a pool of available addresses in the remote network, and assigns addresses for use by the client computer that do not conflict with the addresses for local resources. The address assignment server also provides routing information for resources in the remote network to the virtual private network tool. The virtual private network tool will postpone loading this routing information into the routing tables of the client computer until the client computer requests access to a specific resource in the remote network. When the client computer requests access to a specific resource in the remote network, the virtual private network tool will only provide the routing table with the routing information for that specific remote resource.

Claims

1. A method of establishing communication between a client computer and a network remote from the client computer, comprising:

receiving critical network information for a client computer;

comparing the received critical network information with a pool of available network addresses in a network remote from the client computer, to identify at least one available network address that does not conflict with the critical network information; and

providing the at least one non-conflicting available network address to the client computer for use in communicating with the remote network.

2-10. -10. (canceled)