Dynamic network tunnel endpoint selection
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of selecting a network tunnel endpoint to serve as a gateway through which a client located outside an enterprise network reaches a destination host located inside the enterprise network, comprising:
- dynamically selecting, for the client from among a plurality of selectable tunnel endpoints through which the destination host is reachable, a particular one of the selectable tunnel endpoints to serve as the gateway for tunneling into the enterprise network, wherein the particular one has a lowest cost for reaching the destination host, according to cost metric information associated with reaching the destination host from each of the selectable tunnel endpoints; and
establishing the network tunnel from the client to the particular one of the selectable tunnel endpoints.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Dynamically selecting an endpoint for a tunnel into an enterprise computing infrastructure. A client dynamically selects a gateway (which may alternatively be referred to as a boundary device or server) as a tunnel endpoint for connecting over a public network (or, more generally, an untrusted network) into an enterprise computing infrastructure. The selection is made, in preferred embodiments, according to least-cost routing metrics pertaining to paths through the enterprise network from the selected gateway to a destination host. The least-cost routing metrics may be computed using factors such as the proximity of selectable tunnel endpoints to the destination host; stability or redundancy of network resources for this gateway; monetary costs of transmitting data over a path between the selectable tunnel endpoints and destination host; congestion on that path; hop count for that path; and/or latency or transmit time for data on that path.
53 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of selecting a network tunnel endpoint to serve as a gateway through which a client located outside an enterprise network reaches a destination host located inside the enterprise network, comprising:
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dynamically selecting, for the client from among a plurality of selectable tunnel endpoints through which the destination host is reachable, a particular one of the selectable tunnel endpoints to serve as the gateway for tunneling into the enterprise network, wherein the particular one has a lowest cost for reaching the destination host, according to cost metric information associated with reaching the destination host from each of the selectable tunnel endpoints; and establishing the network tunnel from the client to the particular one of the selectable tunnel endpoints. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification