Method and a network node, for use in a data center, for routing an ipv4 packet over an ipv6 network

A method, for use in a data center having tenants, of delivering an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet to a virtual machine, the IPv4 packet being received as an IPv6 packet having a payload and a header which includes an IPv6 destination address, the method comprising:

• determining the virtual machine associated with a tenant based on the IPv6 destination address;
• generating a header of the IPv4 packet to include an IPv4 destination address determined based on the IPv6 destination address;
• generating a payload of the IPv4 packet based on the payload of the IPv6 packet;
• generating the IPv4 packet by assembling the generated header with the generated payload;
• and
• routing the generated IPv4 packet to the determined virtual machine associated with the tenant.

A network node, in a data center having tenants, for routing an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet, having a payload and a header that includes IPv4 source and destination addresses, over an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) network as an IPv6 packet having a payload and a header, the network node comprising:

• a communication interface for receiving the IPv4 packet from a first virtual machine associated with a first tenant, the IPv4 packet addressed to a second virtual machine associated with a second tenant;
• and
• a processor operationally connected to the communication interface and configured to:
• generate the header of the IPv6 packet to include an IPv6 address determined by applying a reversible transformation to one of:
• a combination of the IPv4 source address and an identifier of the first tenant, and
• a combination of the IPv4 destination address and an identifier of the second tenant;
• generate the payload of the IPv6 packet based on the payload of the received IPv4 packet;
• and
• generate the IPv6 packet by assembling the generated payload of the IPv6 packet with the generated header of the IPv6 packet;
• wherein the communication interface further transmits the generated IPv6 packet over the IPv6 network to the second virtual machine.

A network node, in a data center having tenants, for delivering an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet to a virtual machine, the IPv4 packet being received as an IPv6 packet having a payload and a header which includes an IPv6 destination address, the network node comprising:

• a processor configured to:
• determine the virtual machine associated with a tenant based on the IPv6 destination address;
• generate a header of the IPv4 packet to include an IPv4 destination address determined based on the IPv6 destination address;
• generate a payload of the IPv4 packet based on the payload of the IPv6 packet;
• and
• generate the IPv4 packet by assembling the generated header with the generated payload;
• and
• a communication interface in connection with the processor for routing the generated IPv4 packet to the virtual machine associated with the tenant.