Enhancements for TCP performance enhancing proxies

• US 20030123481A1
• Filed: 11/13/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advantech Satellite Networks Inc.
• Original Assignee: EMS Technologies, Inc. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Mohsen, Abdul-Kader, Neale, Jason, Pether, Andrew M., Begin, Guy
• Granted Patent: US 6,975,647 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18582 Arrangements for data linking, i.e. for data framing, for error recovery, for multiple access
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/18 Automatic repetition systems, e.g. Van Duuren systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1832 Details of sliding window management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1848 Time-out mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/323 Discarding or blocking control packets, e.g. ACK packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/36 by determining packet size, e.g. maximum transfer unit [MTU]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/166 IP fragmentation; TCP segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/326 in the transport layer [OSI layer 4] H04L69/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0273 : adapting protocols for flow control or congestion control to wireless environment, e.g. adapting transmission control protocol [TCP] wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation, e.g. wireless application protocol H04W80/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 : Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 : Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/06 : Transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP [Transport Control Protocol] over wireless transmission control protocol/Internet protocol [TCP/IP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/06 : Airborne or Satellite Networks space-based or airborne stations H04B7/185

Abstract

A method and system is presented for the bi-directional transfer of data packets over a TCP communications system that can comprise both terrestrial and satellite links, using an enhanced flight protocol that, transparently to the end users, replaces the TCP over the congested satellite link portion of the system that accelerates the data delivery between end users and improves reliability of the data packet transmission. The invention eliminates the conventional TCP 3-way handshake and other associated time-delay procedures and replaces them with an improved use of performance enhancing proxies at either end of the satellite link that use a unique acknowledgement methods, data buffer storage and packet header field arrangement among the design features of a flight protocol method and system that accelerates data packet transfer with more efficient link capacity use and greater data throughput.

Claims

1. A method for sending and receiving data packets over a communications system using a TCP protocol, said method comprising the steps of:

Replacing a segment of the communications system with a middle communications link comprising a flight protocol in place of the TCP protocol;

Maintaining TCP protocol connections at two end segments of the communications system;

Converting data packets sent by a client to a server over a part of the communications link from TCP to said flight protocol;

Transmitting said converted data packets over the middle communications link using flight protocol;

Receiving said data packets at one end of said middle communications link and thereafter converting the data packets from the flight protocol to the TCP protocol; and

,

Sending the data packets in the TCP protocol to the server.