Firewall interface configuration to enable bi-directional VoIP traversal communications
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- providing, by a firewall interposed between an internal network and an external network, network-layer protection against unauthorized access by hosts associated with the external network to a plurality of internal hosts associated with the internal network by performing network address translation (NAT) processing of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the plurality of internal hosts;
providing, by the firewall, application-layer protection from the external network on behalf of the plurality of internal hosts by processing one or more signaling protocols associated with one or more Voice over IP (VoIP) sessions, includingdistinguishing among VoIP packets and non-VoIP packets,inspecting the VoIP packets within an operating system kernel of the firewall, andperforming content-aware NAT within the operating system kernel by changing data in headers of the VoIP packets and also changing data contents in the VoIP packets corresponding to data changed in the headers to enable bi-directional VoIP communications among one or more of the plurality of internal hosts and one or more of the hosts associated with the external network;
providing a plurality of VoIP ports to an external VoIP interface of the firewall;
receiving by the external VoIP interface incoming VoIP packets each having associated therewith a user alias and an indication regarding one of the plurality of VoIP ports;
causing each of said received multiple incoming VoIP packets to be directed to an appropriate internal host of the plurality of internal hosts by performing by the firewall port address forwarding based on the port indication to an H.323 gatekeeper, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server or a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) media gateway within the internal network that maintains a mapping of user aliases to private addresses of the plurality of internal hosts.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for an intelligent network protection gateway (NPG) and network architecture are provided. According to one embodiment, a firewall provides network-layer protection to internal hosts against unauthorized access by hosts of an external network by performing network address translation (NAT) processing of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The firewall changes data in headers of VoIP packets and corresponding data contents of the VoIP packets, to enable bi-directional VoIP communications. An external VoIP interface of the firewall receives incoming VoIP packets having a user alias (e.g., an email address) and an indication regarding a VoIP port of external interface. The packets are directed to an appropriate internal host by the firewall performing port address forwarding based on the port indication to an appropriate media gateway within the internal network that maintains a mapping of user aliases to private addresses of the internal hosts.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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providing, by a firewall interposed between an internal network and an external network, network-layer protection against unauthorized access by hosts associated with the external network to a plurality of internal hosts associated with the internal network by performing network address translation (NAT) processing of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the plurality of internal hosts; providing, by the firewall, application-layer protection from the external network on behalf of the plurality of internal hosts by processing one or more signaling protocols associated with one or more Voice over IP (VoIP) sessions, including distinguishing among VoIP packets and non-VoIP packets, inspecting the VoIP packets within an operating system kernel of the firewall, and performing content-aware NAT within the operating system kernel by changing data in headers of the VoIP packets and also changing data contents in the VoIP packets corresponding to data changed in the headers to enable bi-directional VoIP communications among one or more of the plurality of internal hosts and one or more of the hosts associated with the external network; providing a plurality of VoIP ports to an external VoIP interface of the firewall; receiving by the external VoIP interface incoming VoIP packets each having associated therewith a user alias and an indication regarding one of the plurality of VoIP ports; causing each of said received multiple incoming VoIP packets to be directed to an appropriate internal host of the plurality of internal hosts by performing by the firewall port address forwarding based on the port indication to an H.323 gatekeeper, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server or a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) media gateway within the internal network that maintains a mapping of user aliases to private addresses of the plurality of internal hosts. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An intelligent network protection gateway device comprising:
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a network address translation (NAT) processing means, configured to be interposed between an internal network and an external network, for providing network-layer protection against unauthorized access by hosts associated with the external network to a plurality of internal hosts associated with the internal network by performing translation of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the plurality of internal hosts; an application-layer protection means, for protecting the plurality of internal host from the external network by processing one or more signaling protocols associated with one or more Voice over IP (VoIP) sessions, including distinguishing among VoIP packets and non-VoIP packets, inspecting the VoIP packets within an operating system kernel of the application-layer protection means, and changing data in headers of the VoIP packets and also changing data contents in the VoIP packets corresponding to data changed in the headers within the operating system kernel to enable bi-directional VoIP communications among one or more of the plurality of internal hosts and one or more of the hosts associated with the external network; an external VoIP interface including a plurality of VoIP ports configured to receive incoming VoIP packets each having contained therein an a user alias and an indication regarding one of the plurality of VoIP ports; wherein said external VoIP interface further comprises a means for directing the incoming VoIP packets to an appropriate internal host of the plurality of internal hosts by performing port address forwarding based on the port indication to an H.323 gatekeeper, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server or a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) media gateway within the internal network that maintains a mapping of user aliases to private addresses of the plurality of internal hosts; wherein one or more of said NAT processing means and said application-layer protection means includes (i) logic implemented within an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) of the intelligent network protection gateway device or (ii) a program storage device readable by one or more processors of the intelligent network protection gateway device, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the one or more processors. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An intelligent network protection firewall comprising:
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a firewall processor configured to be interposed between an internal network and an external network and to provide network-layer protection against unauthorized access by hosts associated with the external network to a plurality of internal hosts associated with the internal network by performing network address translation (NAT) processing of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with the plurality of internal hosts, the firewall processor further configured to provide application-layer protection from the external network on behalf of the plurality of internal hosts by processing one or more signaling protocols associated with one or more Voice over IP (VoIP) sessions, including distinguishing among VoIP packets and non-VoIP packets, inspecting the VoIP packets within an operating system kernel of the firewall processor, and performing content-aware NAT within the operating system kernel by changing data in headers of the VoIP packets and also changing data contents in the VoIP packets corresponding to data changed in the headers to enable bi-directional VoIP communications among one or more of the plurality of internal hosts and one or more of the hosts associated with the external network; an external VoIP interface, providing a plurality of VoIP ports, configured to receive incoming VoIP packets each having associated therewith a user alias and an indication regarding one of the plurality of VoIP ports and to direct the incoming VoIP packets to an internal host of the plurality of internal hosts by performing port address forwarding based on the port indication to an H.323 gatekeeper, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server or a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) media gateway within the internal network that maintains a mapping of user aliases to private addresses of the plurality of internal hosts. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification