Method and system for device addressing on a computer network

A computer readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a computer system, which when executed by the computer system, cause the

• computer system to perform the method steps for communicating information over a communications network, said method comprising the steps of:
• determining a network location of a target device to which a first frame of information is to be sent, the first frame of information being formatted for a first communications protocol and including a device address field configured to store a device identifier;
• selecting, based on the network location of the target device, an addressing scheme from among plural different addressing schemes;
• generating the device identifier for the first frame on the basis of the selected addressing scheme, the device identifier corresponding to the target device;
• encapsulating the first frame of information in a second frame of information formatted for a second communications protocol, the second frame including a destination address field;
• generating a destination address for the second frame on the basis of the device identifier in the device address field of the first frame;
• storing the destination address in the destination address field of the second frame;
• and
• transmitting the second frame of information over the communications network.

A system for communicating information over a communications network, comprising:

• means for determining a network location of a target device to which a first frame of information is to be sent, the first frame of information being formatted for a first communications protocol and including a device address field configured to store a device identifier;
• means for selecting, based on the network location of the target device, an addressing scheme from among plural different addressing schemes;
• means for generating the device identifier for the first frame on the basis of the selected addressing scheme, the device identifier corresponding to the target device;
• means for encapsulating the first frame of information in a second frame of information formatted for a second communications protocol, the second frame including a destination address field;
• means for generating a destination address for the second frame on the basis of the device identifier in the device address field of the first frame;
• means for storing the destination address in the destination address field of the second frame;
• and
• means for transmitting the second frame of information over the communications network.

A system for communicating information over a communications network, comprising:

• a memory having embodied therein information of the communications network and network protocols;
• a processor in communication with the memory and configured to:
• determine a network location of a target device to which a first frame of information is to be sent, the first frame of information being formatted for a first communications protocol and including a device address field configured to store a device identifier;
• select, based on the network location of the target device, an addressing scheme from among plural different addressing schemes;
• generate the device identifier for the first frame on the basis of the selected addressing scheme, the device identifier corresponding to the target device;
• encapsulate the first frame of information in a second frame of information formatted for a second communications protocol, the second frame including a destination address field;
• generate a destination address for the second frame on the basis of the device identifier in the device address field of the first frame;
• store the destination address in the destination address field of the second frame;
• and
• transmitting the second frame of information over the communications network.