Enabling a service provider to provide intranet services

摘要

A method and system allows a service provider to provide Intranet services remotely by assigning private virtual servers to customers. Each customer addresses transmissions to one or more private virtual servers using private addresses from the customer's private Intranet. The addresses of different private virtual servers do not have to be unique and may overlap. Customers exchange privately-addressed transmissions with the service provider using tunnels to traverse the local or regional network connecting the customer with the service provider. The service provider routes the transmissions to the relevant private virtual server belonging to the customer that sent the transmission. The service provider also routes privately-addressed transmissions back to individual customers using tunnels.