IPv4/IPv6 bridge
AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing, LLC
InventorsCarl Carter-Schwendler, Murali Sangubhatla
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A virtual machine host may provide IPv4 connections to IPv4 virtual machine guests and map the connections to IPv6 networks. The IPv6 addressed exposed by the virtual machine host may be used in an IPv6 environment to communicate with the virtual machine guests, enabling various IPv6 connected scenarios for the IPv4 virtual machines. The virtual machine host may receive IPv6 communications, and translate those communications to IPv4 to communicate with the virtual machine guests. Similarly, the outbound IPv4 communications may be translated into IPv6 for communications to the IPv6 network.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- hosting a first virtual machine, wherein the first virtual machine is configured to communicate with a first IPv4 address;
- providing a virtual network that enables communication with the first virtual machine via the first IPv4 address;
- managing a mapping of the first IPv4 address to a first IPV6 address;
- receiving, from a network interface, an IPv6 communication addressed to the first IPv6 address;
- translating, based on the mapping, the first IPv6 address into the first IPv4 address associated with the first virtual machine;
- translating the IPv6 communication to an IPv4 communication;
- and
- transmitting the IPv4 communication over the virtual network to the first IPv4 address.
A computing device, comprising:
- a network interface configured to provide a physical connection to an IPv6 network;
- a memory and a processor, wherein the memory and the processor are respectively configured to store and execute instructions for causing the computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
- configuring a first virtual machine with a first IPv4 address;
- configuring the first virtual machine with a first IPv6 address;
- storing a mapping of the first IPv4 address to the first IPv6 address;
- receiving a first IPv6 communication from a physical network coupled to the computing device, wherein the physical network is configured to operate using IPv6 addresses, and wherein the first IPv6 communication is addressed to the first IPv6 address;
- determining that the first IPv6 address corresponds with the first IPv4 address;
- translating the first IPv6 communication into a first IPv4 communication;
- and
- transmitting the translated first IPv4 communication over a first virtual network to the first virtual machine.
A method, comprising:
- configuring a first virtual machine of a computing device with a first IPv4 address;
- associating the first IPv4 address to a first IPv6 address;
- receiving a first IPv6 communication via a network interface that interfaces the computing device to an IPv6 network, wherein the first IPv6 communication is addressed to the first IPv6 address;
- determining that the first IPv6 address corresponds with the first IPv4 address;
- translating the first IPv6 communication into a first IPv4 communication;
- and
- transmitting the translated first IPv4 communication to the first virtual machine over a first virtual network.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.