Managing resources for IP networking

1. A method for managing resources in networking, on a gateway platform, the method comprising:

adding a field to an operating system kernel software procedure stored in a computer readable medium of the gateway platform, the field referencing a virtual router context;

modifying the operating system kernel stored in the computer readable medium to provide heritability of the field referencing the virtual router context in at least one of a process and a socket; and

modifying packet processing code to determine the socket with which an ingress packet is associated based on the virtual router context of the ingress packet;

modifying the packet processing code to select a routing table based on the virtual router context of the socket sending an egress packet; and

modifying the operating system kernel to designate a lead operating system kernel for a distributed host, wherein the distributed host includes a plurality of processors in the gateway platform that are assigned one Internet Protocol (IP) address so that the plurality of processors implement a single IP host, and wherein the lead operating system kernel performs tasks for the distributed host as a whole and not for any specific connection or port.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the single IP host that is compatible with existing protocols.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising running separate operating system instances on the plurality of processors in the gateway platform.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operating system is a Linux operating system.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gateway platform supports voice and data services on one or more mobile wireless networks.

6. An apparatus gateway platform residing in a communication network comprising:

a plurality of processors residing in the gateway platform and implementing a distributed host, wherein the distributed host includes a plurality of processors in the gateway platform that are assigned one Internet Protocol (IP) address so that the plurality of processors implement a single IP host, and wherein individual processors of the plurality of processors determine responsibility for processing packets received at each processor, such that when a packet is received at an individual processor of plurality of processors, the individual processor determines whether to handle the processing of the packet itself or to send the packet to a second processor for processing; and

at least one computer readable medium, in communication with at least one of the plurality of processors, storing:

an operating system instance whose kernel is adapted to include a field to indicate an appropriate virtual router context within the gateway platform to handle an incoming data packet, wherein the field is heritable in the virtual router context in at least one of a process and a socket;

packet processing code that determines the socket with which an ingress packet is associated based on the virtual router context of the ingress packet, and selects a routing table based on the virtual router context of the socket sending an egress packet.

7. The gateway platform of claim 6 , wherein the single IP host is compatible with existing protocols.

8. The gateway platform of claim 6 , wherein the distributed host runs application software written for a single processor host implementation.

9. The gateway platform of claim 6 , wherein at least a two of the plurality of processors run separate operating system instances.

10. The gateway platform of claim 9 , wherein the distributed host provides the operating system instances bindings to different sockets, which are assigned the same IP address.

11. The gateway platform of claim 6 , wherein the gateway platform supports voice and data services on one or more mobile wireless networks.

12. The gateway platform of claim 6 , further comprising a network interface in communication with the kernel that tags a packet with a context number.

13. The gateway platform of claim 6 , wherein the kernel uses the context number of a packet in order to deliver a packet to a process.

14. A gateway platform residing in a communication network comprising:

a plurality of processors residing in the gateway platform and implementing a distributed host, wherein the distributed host includes a plurality of processors in the gateway platform that are assigned one Internet Protocol (IP) address so that the plurality of processors implement a single IP host; and

at least one computer readable medium, in communication with at least one of the plurality of processors, storing:

an operating system instance whose kernel is adapted to include a field to indicate an appropriate virtual router context within the gateway platform to handle an incoming data packet, wherein the field is heritable in the virtual router context in at least one of a process and a socket, and the kernel designates a lead operating system kernel which performs tasks for the distributed host as a whole and not for any specific connection or port;

packet processing code that determines the socket with which an ingress packet is associated based on the virtual router context of the ingress packet, and selects a routing table based on the virtual router context of the socket sending an egress packet.

15. The gateway platform of claim 14 , wherein the single IP host is compatible with existing protocols.

16. The gateway platform of claim 14 , wherein the distributed host runs application software written for a single processor host implementation.

17. The gateway platform of claim 16 , wherein the distributed host provides the operating system instances bindings to different sockets, which are assigned the same IP address.

18. The gateway platform of claim 14 , wherein at least a two of the plurality of processors run separate operating system instances.

19. The gateway platform of claim 14 , wherein the gateway platform supports voice and data services on one or more mobile wireless networks.

20. The gateway platform of claim 14 , further comprising a network interface in communication with the kernel that tags a packet with a context number.

21. The gateway platform of claim 14 , wherein the kernel uses the context number of a packet in order to deliver a packet to a process.