Service dependent ip addresses

Abstract

A system that enables end-user devices that operate within different enterprise networks to exchange data with one another. In particular, the disclosed system uses unique IP addresses that are dedicated solely to supporting a predefined communication service between enterprise computer networks, in order to identify and route each data packet according to the communications service. As part of the communications service, the data packets are transmitted, for example, from a first local service provider network hosting a first enterprise network, through a participating backbone service provider network on the public Internet and based on deterministic routing, and to a second local service provider network hosting a second enterprise network. In handling the data packets in this way, the disclosed system creates an Internet wide-area-network (WAN): the data packets are transmitted over the Internet and conceivably over a large geographic distance between enterprise networks.