Overlay network

A method of configuring an inside network comprised of a plurality of routers to facilitate communications with an outside network, inside devices connected to the inside network having been previously assigned a unique local address (ULA) and a globally unique address (GUA), the method comprising:

• instructing the plurality of routers to route inside messages over the inside network without encapsulation, the inside messages being messages having one of the ULAs as the destination address;
• instructing one or more of the plurality of routers to encapsulate outside messages for transmission over the inside network through one or more tunnels, the outside messages being messages having one of the GUAs as the destination address;
• instructing a first plurality of routers selected from the plurality of routers to facilitate routing a first message of the inside messages over the inside network according to a first path, the first path routing the first message from a first device of the inside devices connected to the inside network through each of the first plurality of routers;
• and
• instructing a second plurality of routers selected from the first plurality routers to facilitate routing a second message of the outside messages over the inside network through a first tunnel of the one or more tunnels such that the first tunnel routes through the inside network according to a second path that is at least in part infrastructurally common to and overlaid with the first path.

A method for facilitating message exchange between an inside network and an outside network when the inside network includes an edge router configured to separate the inside network from the outside network and one or more internal routers configured to direct messages between the edge router and one or more inside devices, the method comprising:

• instructing the edge router and the internal routers with routing tables to control whether messages are routed over one of at least a first network and a second network formed by sharing a common infrastructure of the edge router and the internal routers, the routing tables being configured such that the messages routed over the first and second networks commonly route through a lowest layer router connected to the inside device associated therewith;
• and
• configuring the routing tables to control routing over the common infrastructure such that:
• i) a first device of the inside devices communicates over a path when communicating a first message of the messages requiring routing through the edge router over the first network, the path traversing at least one or more intermediary routers of the internal routers positioned within the common infrastructure between the edge router and the lowest layer router connected to the first device;
• and
• ii) the first device communicates over the path when communicating a second message of the messages requiring routing through the edge router over the second network such that the second message traverses through the same one or more intermediary routers as the first message.