Providing network communications using virtualization based on protocol information in packet

1. A method of providing network communications, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting, at a first device, a request for a network connection from an application running on the first device;

(b) spawning, at the first device in response to the request for a network connection, a first virtual machine that runs on the first device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided;

(c) programmatically selecting, at the first device, a routing protocol from among a plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data from the application over a network using the first virtual network connection; and

(d) determining, at the first device, a first intermediate node to transmit a packet to, the determination being based on

(i) the selected routing protocol, and

(ii) a routing table maintained at the first device;

(e) transmitting, from the first device using the first virtual network connection, the packet to a second device corresponding to the first intermediate node for communication to a destination node, the packet including

(i) an indication of the destination node, and

(ii) protocol information corresponding to the selected routing protocol;

(f) spawning, at the second device, a second virtual machine that runs on the second device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a second virtual network connection is provided;

(g) receiving, at the second device via the second virtual network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device, the packet transmitted by the first device;

(h) determining, at the second device, a third device to which to transmit the packet, said determination being informed by the protocol information contained in the packet; and

(i) transmitting the packet to the third device using the second virtual network connection;

(j) wherein the application runs outside of the first virtual machine.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of available routing protocols include the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), the Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and the Constrained Shortest Path First (CSPF) protocol.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second device comprises a computer.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the computer includes a plurality of processing cores.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second device is a mobile phone.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein, in said step of determining a third device to transmit the packet to, the determination is further informed by network information stored at the second device.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method further includes the steps of

(a) receiving, at the second device, a second packet, the second packet including network data contained therein; and

(b) updating, based on the network data, the network information stored at the device.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of querying, by the first device, the network for network information.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the network information comprises backbone information.

10. A method, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting, at a first device, a request for a network connection from an application running on the first device;

(b) spawning, at the first device in response to the request for a network connection, a first virtual machine that runs on the first device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided;

(c) programmatically selecting, at the first device, a routing protocol from among a plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data from the application over a network using the first virtual network connection; and

(d) determining, at the first device, a first intermediate node to transmit a packet to, the determination being based on

(i) the selected routing protocol, and

(ii) a routing table maintained at the first device;

(e) transmitting, from the first device using the first virtual network connection, the packet to a client device corresponding to the first intermediate node for communication to a destination node, the packet including

(i) an indication of the destination node, and

(ii) protocol information;

(f) spawning, at the client device, a second virtual machine that runs on the second device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a second virtual network connection is provided;

(g) receiving, at the client device via the second virtual network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the client device, the packet;

(h) analyzing, at the client device, the packet;

(i) based at least partially on information from the analyzed packet, selecting, at the client device, a routing protocol from among a plurality of available routing protocols; and

(j) transmitting, from the client device via the second virtual network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the client device, utilizing the routing protocol selected at the client device, the packet over the network;

(k) wherein the application runs outside of the first virtual machine.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the method further includes a step of appending additional information, including information associated with the client device, to the payload of the packet prior to transmitting the packet, from the client device, over the network.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the payload of the packet includes an indication of a protocol to be utilized, and wherein said step of analyzing, at the client device, the packet comprises identifying this indication, and said step of selecting, at the client device, a routing protocol comprises selecting the routing protocol indicated in the payload of the packet.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the packet includes an indication of a protocol to be utilized, and wherein said step of analyzing, at the client device, the packet comprises identifying this indication, and said step of selecting, at the client device, a routing protocol comprises selecting the routing protocol indicated in the packet.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the client device comprises a computer.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the client device comprises a mobile phone.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of available routing protocols include the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), the Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and the Constrained Shortest Path First (CSPF) protocol.

17. A method of providing network communications, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting, at a first device, a request for a network connection from an application running on the first device;

(b) spawning, at the first device in response to the request for a network connection, a first virtual machine that runs on the first device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided;

(c) programmatically selecting, at the first device, a routing protocol from among a plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data from the application over a network using the first virtual network connection; and

(d) determining, at the first device, a first intermediate node to transmit a first packet to, the determination being based on

(i) the selected routing protocol, and

(ii) a routing table maintained at the first device;

(e) transmitting, from the first device using the first virtual network connection, the first packet to a second device corresponding to the first intermediate node for communication to a destination node, the packet including

(i) an indication of the destination node, and

(ii) protocol information corresponding to the selected routing protocol;

(f) spawning, at the first device, a second virtual machine that runs on the first device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a second virtual network connection is provided;

(g) receiving, at the first device via the second virtual network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device, a second packet;

(h) determining, at the first device, a third device to which to transmit the second packet, said determination being informed by protocol information contained in the second packet; and

(i) transmitting the second packet to the third device using the second virtual network connection;

(j) wherein the application runs outside of the first virtual machine.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the first device comprises a computer.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the first device comprises a mobile phone.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of available routing protocols include the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), the Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and the Constrained Shortest Path First (CSPF) protocol.