POINT-TO-MULTI-POINT/NON-BROADCASTING MUTLI-ACCESS VPN TUNNELS

• US 20100278181A1
• Filed: 07/12/2010
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Shieh, Choung-Yaw, LIU, Changming, Cheng, Yonghui
• Granted Patent: US 8,127,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system establishes a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel to a destination and determines a next hop for the VPN tunnel. The system inserts the next hop, and an address associated with the destination, into an entry of a first table. The system inserts the next hop, and a tunnel identifier corresponding to the established VPN tunnel, into an entry of a second table. The system associates one or more security parameters, used to encrypt traffic sent via the VPN tunnel, with the tunnel identifier.

Claims

1-41. -41. (canceled)

42. A method, performed by a network device, the method comprising:

receiving, at the network device, a data unit;

performing, by the network device, a lookup in a first table to retrieve a next hop identifier, the next hop identifier corresponding to a destination of the data unit;

performing, by the network device and using the retrieved next hop identifier, a lookup in a second table to identify a tunnel identifier; and

forwarding, by the network device, the data unit via a tunnel corresponding to the tunnel identifier.