Method of creating an address and a discontiguous mask for a network security policy area

• US 7,400,591 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2005
• Issued: 07/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Valtrus Innovations Limited (f/k/a Dolya Holdco 9 Limited) (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Jemes, Brian, Froelich, Stephen F., Brawn, John Melvin
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Wing F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Roberts; Brian
• Application Number:
  US11/142,643
• Publication Number:
  US 20050232165A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/025 Updating only a limited number of routers, e.g. fish-eye update
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/30 Routing of multiclass traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5061 Pools of addresses

Abstract

A method of creating a discontiguous address plan for an enterprise is provided which includes determining a hierarchy of routing optimization for an enterprise, determining a number of route advertisement aggregation points at each level of the hierarchy, determining a number of network security policy areas for the enterprise, and determining a number of addresses for each of the network security policy areas. The number of addresses is rounded up to a power of the address scheme base number to produce a plurality of rounded addresses. The method further includes allocating an address range for each of the plurality of rounded addresses so that a starting address of the address range begins on a power of the base number and determining a size of the plurality of address ranges. The size of the plurality of address ranges is rounded up to a power of the base number to produce the size of a repeating policy pattern. The method further includes assigning an instance of the repeating policy pattern to each of the route advertisement aggregation points at each hierarchy, and determining an address and a mask for each of the network security policy areas in the repeating policy pattern.

Claims

1. A method of creating an address and a discontiguous mask, comprising:

dividing a network address space into a plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns;

determining a size mask that represents a policy area in a first repeating section of the repeating policy patterns;

determining a pattern mask that represents the first repeating section of the repeating policy patterns;

determining an all patterns mask that represents the repeating policy patterns; and

creating the address and the discontiguous mask using the size mask, the pattern mask, and the all patterns mask.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising determining a starting address for the policy area that is a power of a base number.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the base number is selected from a group consisting of 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns are identical to one another.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns contains some information that is similar to and some information that is identical to at least one other repeating policy pattern.

6. A method of creating a discontiguous address plan having repeating patterns within repeating patterns using an address and a discontiguous mask, the method comprising:

dividing a network address space into a plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns;

determining a size mask that represents a policy area in a repeating section of the repeating policy patterns;

determining a pattern mask that represents the repeating section of the repeating policy patterns;

repeating the determining steps until all patterns within patterns have been determined;

determining an all patterns mask that represents the entire repeating policy patterns; and

creating the address and the discontiguous mask using the size masks, the pattern masks, and the all patterns mask.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, further comprising determining a starting address for the policy area that is a power of a base number.

8. A method as defined in claim 7, wherein the base number is selected from a group consisting of 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16.

9. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns are identical to one another.

10. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns contains some information that is similar to and some information that is identical to at least one other repeating policy pattern.

11. A method of creating a discontiguous mask for a network security policy area, comprising:

allocating network addresses for the network security policy area;

assigning the network addresses to a plurality of policy patterns;

determining a size mask that represents a size of a policy area in a first section of the plurality of policy patterns;

determining a pattern mask that represents a size of the first section of the plurality of policy patterns;

determining an all patterns mask that represents a size of the plurality of policy patterns; and

creating the discontiguous mask using the size mask, the pattern mask, and the all patterns mask.

12. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the size of the policy area is a power of a base number.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the base number is selected from a group consisting of 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16.

14. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising creating an address using the size mask, the pattern mask, and the all patterns mask.

15. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the plurality of policy patterns includes a plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of adjacent repeating policy patterns is identical to one another.

17. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the size of the first section of the plurality of policy patterns is a power of a base number.

18. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the base number is selected from a group consisting of 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16.

19. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the size of each of the plurality of policy patterns is a power of a base number.

20. A method as defined in claim 19, wherein the base number is selected from a group consisting of 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16.