EXTENSION OF ADDRESS RESOLUTION PROTOCOL (ARP) FOR INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) VIRTUAL NETWORKS

摘要

A system for supporting translation of virtual IP addresses to Ethernet/MAC addresses in a multi-Virtual Network environment, in which address resolution tables are generated and maintained by Virtual Networking Devices (12, 14 and 16). Virtual Networking Device (VND) sends and/or receives Virtual Network-specific ARP traffic. The Virtual Network-specific ARP traffic includes ARP requests or responses that map a MAC address to an IP address in the private IP address space of an associated Virtual Private Network. The disclosed virtual Networking Devices can therefore operate in configurations in which multiple independent entities operate on separate Virtual Networks, and where servers may be accessible via virtual IP addresses within the private IP address spaces of associated Virtual Networks.