NETWORK ABSTRACTION AND ISOLATION LAYER FOR MASQUERADING MACHINE IDENTITY OF A COMPUTER

• US 20100281181A1
• Filed: 07/16/2010
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Surgient, Inc. (Quest Software, Inc.)
• Inventors: McCrory, Dave D., Johnson, Scott C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,331,391 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/16 Implementing security features at a particular protocol layer

Abstract

A network abstraction and isolation layer (NAIL) for masquerading the machine identity of a computer in a network to enable the computer to communicate in the network with a different machine identity including an isolated network interface for communicating with the computer, an abstraction network interface for communicating with a network device coupled to the network, and control instructions or device. The control instructions or device performs machine identity translation to masquerade machine identity of the computer relative to the network. Machine identity masquerading includes selectively translating any one or more of an IP address, a MAC address, a machine name, a system identifier, and a DNS Name in the header or payload of communication packets.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a virtual network abstraction and isolation layer which instructs a processor to masquerade the machine identity of a computer in a local network to enable the computer to communicate in the local network with a different machine identity, comprising:

a first set of interface instructions, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, which instructs the processor to configure a virtual isolated network interface for communicating with the computer;

a second set of interface instructions, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, which instructs the processor to configure an abstraction network interface for communicating with a network device coupled to the local network; and

control instructions, encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, which instruct the processor to translate an IP address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address to a different IP address and a different MAC address, respectively, in a packet header of a communication packet transmitted between said virtual isolated and abstraction network interfaces, and to instruct the processor to translate at least one of a machine name and a system identifier to a different machine name and a different system identifier, respectively, in a packet payload of the communication packet.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said control instructions further instruct the processor to translate at least one of an IP address and a Domain Name Service (DNS) Name to a different one of an IP address and a DNS Name, respectively, in the packet payload of the communication packet.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said control instructions further instruct the processor to translate an IP address to a different IP address in the packet payload of the communication packet between said virtual isolated and abstraction network interfaces.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein said control instructions further instruct the processor to translate a Domain Name Service (DNS) Name to a different DNS Name in the packet payload of the communication packet.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said control instructions further instruct the processor to employ a configurable list of translations.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said control instructions further instruct the processor to selectively translate communication packets based on communication protocol.

7. A network abstraction and isolation layer (NAIL) apparatus for masquerading the machine identity of a computer in a local network to enable the computer to communicate in the local network with a different machine identity, comprising:

a physical isolated network interface port which is configured to communicate with the computer;

a physical abstraction network interface port which is configured to communicate with a network device coupled to the local network; and

a control device, coupled between said isolated and abstraction network ports, which is configured to perform machine identity translation to masquerade machine identity of the computer within the local network;

wherein said control device is configured to translate an IP address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address to a different IP address and a different MAC address, respectively, in a packet header of a communication packet transmitted between said isolated and abstraction network ports, and wherein said control logic is further configured to translate at least one of a machine name and a system identifier to a different machine name and a different system identifier, respectively, in a packet payload of the communication packet.

8. The NAIL apparatus of claim 7, wherein said control device is further configured to translate at least one of an IP address and a Domain Name Service (DNS) Name to a different one of an IP address and a DNS Name, respectively, in the packet payload of the communication packet.

9. The NAIL apparatus of claim 7, wherein said control device is configured to translate an IP address to a different IP address in the packet payload of the communication packet between said isolated and abstraction network ports.

10. The NAIL apparatus of claim 9, wherein said control device is further configured to translate a Domain Name Service (DNS) Name to a different DNS Name in the packet payload of the communication packet.

11. The NAIL apparatus of claim 7, wherein said control device is configured to employ a configurable list of translations.

12. The NAIL apparatus of claim 7, wherein said control device is configured to selectively translate communication packets based on communication protocol.