Secure communications in a system having multi-homed devices

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for causing a processor of a network device to:

• process a request to establish a communication association between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device comprises a first multi-homed device having a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are each associated with a respective network interface of the first device, wherein the second device comprises a second multi-homed device having a plurality of IP addresses that are each associated with a respective network interface of the second device, and wherein the network device is distinct from both the first and second devices;
• store state information for the communication association, wherein the state information includes the plurality of IP addresses of the first device and the plurality of IP addresses of the second device;
• and
• secure the communication association between the first device and the second device using the state information.

A network device comprising:

• a processor;
• a state table configured to store information for communication associations between devices;
• an association establishment module implemented by the processor to process a request to establish a communication association between a first device and a second device and to store state information for the communication association in the state table, wherein the first device comprises a first multi-homed device having a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are each associated with a respective network interface of the first device, wherein the second device comprises a second multi-homed device having a plurality of IP addresses that are each associated with a respective network interface of the second device, wherein the network device is distinct from both the first and second devices, and wherein the state information includes the plurality of IP addresses of the first device and the plurality of IP addresses of the second device;
• and
• an inspection module implemented by the processor to secure the communication association between the first device and the second device by using the state information stored in the state table.

A network device comprising:

• means for processing a request to establish a communication association between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device comprises a first multi-homed device having a plurality of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are each associated with a respective network interface of the first device, wherein the second device comprises a second multi-homed device having a plurality of IP addresses that are each associated with a respective network interface of the second device, and wherein the network device is distinct from both the first and second devices;
• means for storing state information for the communication association, wherein the state information includes the plurality of IP addresses of the first device and the plurality of IP addresses of the second device;
• and
• means for securing the communication association between the first device and the second device using the state information.