Communication of electronic data via a network infrastructure

• US 20040122975A1
• Filed: 01/21/2004
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Sunqvist, Jim, Arngren, Tommy, Lennestal, Hakan
• Application Number:
  US10/468,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20040122975A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1877 Measures taken prior to transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/065 for group communications cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management involving conference or group key H04L9/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An apparatus and method for communicating electronic data via a network infastructure (101) having a unicast mechanism and a multicast mechanism. Said apparatus comprises a server (100), which contains electronic data and is capable of using said unicast and multicast mechanisms for communicating said electronic data to one or more clients (102), the apparatus comprises means (103) adapted to make a decision, taking into account a predetermined set of parameters, whether said server (100) shall use said unicast mechanism or said multicast mechanism for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102) and said server (100) is arranged to communicate said electronic data to said clients (102) in accordance with said decision.

Claims

1. An apparatus for communicating electronic data via a network infrastructure (101;

401;

701) having a unicast mechanism and a multicast mechanism, said apparatus comprising a server (100;

400;

700), which contains electronic data and is capable of using said unicast and multicast mechanisms for communicating said electronic data to one or more clients (102;

402;

702), characterized in that it comprises means (103) adapted to make a decision, taking into account a predetermined set of parameters, whether said server (100;

400;

700) shall use said unicast mechanism or said multicast mechanism for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) and that said server (100;

400;

700) is arranged to communicate said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) in accordance with said decision, and that for providing secure data communication when said decision is for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702), each of said clients (102;

402;

702) is adapted to communicate a first data encryption key to a device (403), that said device (403) is adapted to calculate a second data encryption key for each of said clients (102;

402;

702) through a predetermined operation using a unique client identifier and said first data encryption key, that said device (403) is adapted to communicate said second data encryption keys to each respective client (102;

402;

702), that said server (100;

400;

700) is adapted to encrypt the electronic data to be communicated using a third data encryption key corresponding to the difference between said first and second data encryption keys according to said predetermined operation, that said server (100;

400;

700) is adapted to communicate the encrypted electronic data to each respective client (102;

402;

702), that each of said clients (102;

402;

702) is adapted to create said third data encryption key using said first and second data encryption keys, and that each of said clients (102;

402;

702) is adapted to decrypt the communicated electronic data using said third data encryption key.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said means (103) is included in said server (100;

400;

700).

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises an additional server (110;

410) and that said means (103) for making said decision is included in said additional server (110;

410).

4. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to make said decision based on the number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) per unit of time as one of said parameters.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to decide for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) when said number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) per unit of time is >

=2 and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

6. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to make said decision based on the number of client requests for a portion of said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) as one of said parameters.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that said portion is an individual data stream.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to decide for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said portion to said clients (102;

402;

702) when the number of client requests for said portion of said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) is >

=2 and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

9. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-8, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to make said decision based on the number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) within the same distance from said server (100;

400;

700) as one of said parameters.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that said distance is defined by a TTL value.

11. An apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to decide for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) when the number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) within the same distance from said server (100;

400;

700) is >

=2 and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

12. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-11, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to make said decision based on available server output bandwidth as one of said parameters.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that said means (103) is adapted to decide for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) when available server output bandwidth is less than that required to communicate further electronic data as a response to a client request and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

14. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said device (403) is included in said server (100;

400;

700).

15. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said system comprises an additional server (110;

410) and that said device (403) is included in said additional server (110;

410).

16. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-15, characterized in that said unique client identifier is the IP address of the client (102;

402;

702).

17. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-16, characterized in that said device (403) is adapted to communicate said second data encryption keys only to clients (102;

402;

702) sending RTCP messages containing Receiver Reports.

18. An apparatus according to any of claims 1-17, characterized in that said server (100;

400;

700) is adapted to multicast said electronic data in a looped manner provided that said decision is for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702).

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that said server (100;

400;

700) is adapted to multicast a plurality of data streams containing electronic data representing the same media content, that said server (100;

400;

700) is adapted to multicast each data stream to a different multicast address (703), and that each data stream is arranged to start at a time different from the starting time of any other of said data streams.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that each data stream is part of a layered encoding, that each data stream is encoded with a common base layer and a unique enhancement layer different from the enhancement layer of any other of said data streams, and that each client (102;

402;

702) is adapted to combine the base layer of one data stream with enhancement layers from at least two different of said data streams.

30. A method according to any of claims 21-19, characterized by making said decision based on available server output bandwidth as one of said parameters.

21. A method for communicating electronic data from a server (100;

400;

700) to one or more clients (102;

402;

702) via a network infrastructure (101;

401;

701) having a unicast mechanism and a multicast mechanism, said server (100;

400;

700) containing electronic data and being capable of using said unicast and multicast mechanisms for communicating said electronic data to said one or more clients (102;

402;

702), characterized by the steps of;

making a decision, taking into account a predetermined set of parameters, whether to use said unicast mechanism or said multicast mechanism for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702),

controlling said server (100;

400;

700) to communicate said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) in accordance with said decision, and

for providing secure data communication when said decision is for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702), having the steps of;

obtaining a first data encryption key,

calculating a second data encryption key for each of said clients (102;

402;

702) through a predetermined operation using a unique client identifier and said first data encryption key, communicating said second data encryption keys to each respective client (102;

402;

702),

encrypting the electronic data to be communicated using a third data encryption key corresponding to the difference between said first and second data encryption keys according to said predetermined operation,

communicating the encrypted electronic data to each respective client (102;

402;

702),

creating said third data encryption key at each of said clients (102;

402;

702) using said first and second data encryption keys, and

decrypting the communicated electronic data at each of said clients (102;

402;

702) using said third data encryption key.

22. A method according to claim 21, characterized by making said decision based on the number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) per unit of time as one of said parameters.

23. A method according to claim 22, characterized by deciding for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) when said number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) per unit of time is >

=2 and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

24. A method according to any of claims 21-23, characterized by making said decision based on the number of client requests for a portion of said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) as one of said parameters.

25. A method according to claim 24, characterized in that said portion is an individual data stream.

26. A method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized by deciding for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said portion to said clients (102;

402;

702) when the number of client requests for said portion of said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) is >

=2 and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

27. A method according to any of claims 21-26, characterized by making said decision based on the number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) within the same distance from said server (100;

400;

700) as one of said parameters.

28. A method according to claim 27, characterized in that said distance is defined by a TTL value.

29. A method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized by deciding for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) when the number of client requests for said electronic data to be communicated from said server (100;

400;

700) within the same distance from said server is >

=2 and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

31. A method according to claim 32, characterized by deciding for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702) when available server output bandwidth is less than that required to communicate further electronic data as a response to a client request and otherwise for said unicast mechanism to be used.

32. A method according to claim 21, characterized in that said unique client identifier is the IP address of the client (102;

402;

702).

33. A method according to any of claims 21-32, characterized in that said second data encryption keys only are communicated to clients (102;

402;

702) sending RTCP messages containing Receiver Reports.

34. A method according to any of claims 21-33, characterized in that said multicast electronic data is looped provided that said decision is for said multicast mechanism to be used for communicating said electronic data to said clients (102;

402;

702).

35. A method according to claim 34, characterized in that a plurality of data streams containing electronic data representing the same media content are multicast, that each data stream is multicast to a different multicast address (703), and that each data stream starts at a time different from the starting time of any other of said data streams.

36. A method according to claim 35, characterized in that each data stream is part of a layered encoding, that each data stream is encoded with a common base layer and a unique enhancement layer different from the enhancement layer of any other of said data streams, and that each client (102;

402;

702) combines the base layer of one data stream with enhancement layers from at least two different of said data streams.

37. A computer program directly loadable into the internal memory of a computer, comprising software for controlling the steps of any of claims 21-36 when said program is run on the computer.

38. A computer program according to claim 37, provided at least partially through a network as the Internet.

39. A computer readable medium, having a program recorded thereon, where the program is to make a computer control the steps of any of the claims 21-36.

40. A method for secure multicasting of electronic data from a server (400) to a plurality of clients (402) via a network infrastructure (401), characterized by the steps of:

obtaining a first data encryption key,

calculating a second data encryption key for each of said clients (402) through a predetermined operation using a unique client identifier and said first data encryption key,

communicating said second data encryption keys to each respective client (402), said second data encryption keys only being communicated to clients (402) sending RTCP messages containing Receiver Reports,

encrypting the electronic data to be communicated using a third data encryption key corresponding to the difference between said first and second data encryption keys according to said predetermined operation,

communicating the encrypted electronic data to each respective client (402),

creating said third data encryption key at each of said clients (402) using said first and second data encryption keys, and

decrypting the communicated electronic data at each of said clients (402) using said third data encryption key.

41. A method according to claim 40, characterized in that said unique client identifier is the IP address of the client (402).

42. A computer program directly loadable into the internal memory of a computer, comprising software for controlling the steps of any of claims 40 or 41 when said program is run on the computer.

43. A computer program according to claim 42, provided at least partially through a network as the Internet.

44. A computer readable medium, having a program recorded thereon, where the program is to make a computer control the steps of any of the claims 40 or 41.

45. A system for secure multicasting of electronic data via a network infrastructure (401), said system comprising a server (400) containing electronic data and a plurality of clients (402) to which said server (400) is adapted to multicast said electronic data, characterized in that each of said clients (402) is adapted to communicate a first data encryption key to a device (403), that said device (403) is adapted to calculate a second data encryption key for each of said clients (402) through a predetermined operation using a unique client identifier and said first data encryption key, that said device (403) is adapted to communicate said second data encryption keys to each respective client (402), said device (403) being adapted to communicate said second data encryption keys only to clients (402) sending RTCP messages containing Receiver Reports, that said server (400) is adapted to encrypt the electronic data to be communicated using a third data encryption key corresponding to the difference between said first and second data encryption keys according to said predetermined operation, that said server (400) is adapted to communicate the encrypted electronic data to each respective client (402), that each of said clients (402) is adapted to create said third data encryption key using said first and second data encryption keys, and that each of said clients (402) is adapted to decrypt the communicated electronic data using said third data encryption key.

46. A system according to claim 45, characterized in that said device (403) is included in said server (400).

47. A system according to claim 45, characterized in that said system comprises an additional server (410) and that said device (403) is included in said additional server (410).

48. A system according to any of claims 45-47, characterized in that said unique client identifier is the IP address of the client (402).

49. A method for multicasting electronic data from a server (700) to one or more clients (702) via a network infrastructure (701), characterized in that said multicast electronic data is looped, and a plurality of data streams containing electronic data representing the same media content are multicast, that each data stream is multicast to a different multicast address (703), and that each data stream starts at a time different from the starting time of any other of said data streams.

50. A method according to claim 49, characterized in that each data stream is part of a layered encoding, that each data stream is encoded with a common base layer and a unique enhancement layer different from the enhancement layer of any other of said data streams, and that each client (702) combines the base layer of one data stream with enhancement layers from at least two different of said data streams.

51. A computer program directly loadable into the internal memory of a computer, comprising software for controlling the steps of any of claims 49 or 50 when said program is run on the computer.

52. A computer program according to claim 51, provided at least partially through a network as the Internet.

53. A computer readable medium, having a program recorded thereon, where the program is to make a computer control the steps of any of the claims 49 or 50.

54. A system for multicasting electronic data via a network infrastructure (701), said system comprising a server (700) containing electronic data and a plurality of clients (702) to which said server (700) is adapted to multicast said electronic data, characterized in that said server (700) is adapted to multicast said electronic data in a looped manner, and said server (700) is adapted to multicast a plurality of data streams containing electronic data representing the same media content, that said server (700) is adapted to multicast each data stream to a different multicast address (703), and that each data stream is arranged to start at a time different from the starting time of any other of said data streams.

55. A system according to claim 54, characterized in that each data stream is part of a layered encoding, that each data stream is encoded with a common base layer and a unique enhancement layer different from the enhancement layer of any other of said data streams, and that each client (702) is adapted to combine the base layer of one data stream with enhancement layers from at least two different of said data streams.

56. A method for multicasting electronic data from a server (700) to one or more clients (702) via a network infrastructure (701), characterized by the steps of:

encoding a plurality of data streams containing electronic data representing the same media content according to a layered encoding so that each of said data streams is encoded with a common base layer and a unique enhancement layer different from the enhancement layer of any other of said data streams,

multicasting each of said data streams to a different multicast address (703), and

combining the base layer of one data stream with enhancement layers from at least two different of said data streams.