The invention includes a method and apparatus for establishing DIAMETER associations between nodes of a network. The invention uses a DIAMETER application server disposed between DIAMETER nodes in order to establish DIAMETER associations between nodes and, further, to provide DIAMETER traffic load balancing using established associations. A method includes receiving a DIAMETER connection establishment request from an originating node requesting an association with a destination node, terminating the DIAMETER connection establishment request, obtaining respective DIAMETER associations for the originating node and the destination node, linking the obtained DIAMETER associations, and storing the linked DIAMETER associations. The DIAMETER association for a node may be obtained by identifying a node associated with the DIAMETER connection establishment request, determining if an association exists for the identified node, and retrieving the association from memory if an association exists for the identified node, retrieving the association from memory, or, if an association does not exist for the identified node, establishing the association.