Nortel Networks Corporation

Timothy Cunningham

Manish Patel

Thomas J Meehan

Richard H Crump

Nicholas Ilyadis

Da-Hai Ding

Sandeep P Golikeri

Greg Koester

Joseph Flaherty

A management information base (MIB) for a multi-domain network address translator provides management objects for configuring and controlling the multi-domain network address translator. The MIB includes management objects for defining a domain-specific source address filter range, which is a range of addresses used to detect domain-specific packets that require domain-specific network address translation forwarding. The domain-specific source address filter management objects include a beginning address, a prefix length, a domain indicator, and a domain-specific translation pool indicator. The MIB also includes management objects for defining a domain-specific translation pool, which is a range of addresses from which domain-specific translation addresses are selected for domain-specific network address translation forwarding. The domain-specific translation pool management objects include a beginning address, a prefix length, and a domain indicator.

Management information base for a multi-domain network address translator

A technique for translating addresses in a communication network having multiple overlapping address domains involves mapping an overlapping local address from a first address domain to a unique global address that is specific to a second address domain. The unique global address is used by any device in the second address domain to reference the device in the first address domain having the overlapping local address. Furthermore, a packet sent from a source host in the first address domain to a destination host in the second address domain requires at least a source address translation in order to translate the source host local address used within the first address domain into a source host global address that is used within the second address domain, and may also require a destination address translation in order to translate the destination host global address used within the first address domain into a destination host local address used within the second address domain.

Network address translation in a network having multiple overlapping address domains

A distributed address database management technique involves maintaining an address database by each of a number of interconnected modules. Each module maintains a number of locally owned address entries and a number of remotely owned address entries in the address database. Each module monitors the status of its locally owned address entries, maintains the locally owned address entries based upon the status, and provides the status to the other interconnected modules. Each module maintains the remotely owned address entries based upon the status received from the other interconnected modules. When a module adds a locally owned address entry to its address database, the module notifies the other interconnected modules, which in turn add a corresponding remotely owned address entry to their respective address databases. When a module purges a locally owned address entry from its address database, the module notifies the other interconnected modules, which in turn purge the corresponding remotely owned address entries from their respective address databases. Each module may periodically send a keep-alive message including a list of active addresses to the other interconnected modules, which maintain a persistence timer for each of the remotely owned address entries and purge a particular remotely owned address entry if the corresponding persistence timer expires before receiving a keep-alive message identifying the remotely owned address entry as an active remotely owned address entry. Upon receiving a keep-alive message, a module adds a remotely owned address entry for a particular address to its address database if such a remotely owned address entry is not already maintained in the address database. A module purges all remotely owned address entries from its address database if the module is reconfigured to operate in a stand-alone mode. A module purges all remotely owned address entries associated with a particular interconnected module if that particular interconnected module is removed.

System, device, and method for address management in a distributed communication environment

A technique for domain name resolution in a communication network having multiple overlapping address domains involves translating a destination host domain name into a destination host local address that is ambiguous within the communication network, and then translating the destination host local address into a unique destination host global address. A domain name system proxy uses a domain name system server in the destination address domain to translate the destination host domain name into the destination host local address, and uses a network address translator to translate the destination host local address into the destination host global address.

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Groton, MA, United States of America

Timothy Cunningham