Apparatus and method for hybrid network access

• US 20050053082A1
• Filed: 09/08/2004
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1994
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Performance Proxy Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Dillon, Douglas M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,774,501 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18582 Arrangements for data linking, i.e. for data framing, for error recovery, for multiple access
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18591 Arrangements for interconnecting multiple systems data switching networks H04L12/00
• 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 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/745 Reaction in network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/803 Application aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/825 Involving tunnels, e.g. MPLS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/829 Topology based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• 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 69/168 : specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

A system in which a personal computer sends messages into a TCP/IP network using a conventional dial-up link and downloads data from the TCP/IP network using a high-speed one-way satellite link. A preferred embodiment uses a conventional SLIP provider to connect to the TCP/IP network and uses a commercial software TCP/IP package that has a standard driver interface. A spoofing protocol compensates for the long propagation delays inherent to satellite communication.

Claims

1-19. -19. (Cancelled)

20. A driver for use in a computing device having a TCP/IP stack, said driver being configured to send a first IP packet from the TCP/IP stack through an IP tunnel across a network,

wherein the source IP address of an IP packet of the IP tunnel is different from the source IP address of the first IP packet.

21. A driver according to claim 20, wherein the network is the Internet.

22. A driver according to claim 20, wherein an apparatus on the network receives the IP packet of the IP tunnel, and obtains the first IP packet from the IP packet of the IP tunnel.

23. A driver according to claim 22, wherein the apparatus on the network sends the received first IP packet towards its destination via a network.

24. A driver according to claim 20, wherein the computing device is a personal computing device.

25. A driver according to claim 24, wherein the personal computing device is a personal computer.

28. A personal computing device comprising:

a TCP/IP stack; and

a driver according to claim 20.

29. A driver according to claim 20, wherein said driver interfaces to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device using an ethernet device driver interface.

30. A driver according to claim 20, wherein said driver interfaces to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device using a network driver interface specification.

32. A driver according to claim 20, wherein the data field of the IP packet of the IP tunnel consists of the first IP packet as received by said driver from the TCP/IP stack.

26. An apparatus comprising:

an internet browser; and

a TCP/IP stack for use with said internet browser,

wherein said internet browser sends a packet across the Internet to a second apparatus through (a) said TCP/IP stack, (b) a Network layer tunnel between said TCP/IP stack of said apparatus and a gateway apparatus, and (c) means for transmitting packets from the gateway apparatus to the second apparatus,

wherein a Network layer source address of a packet of the Network layer tunnel is different from a source IP address of an IP packet received by the Network layer tunnel from said TCP/IP stack.

27. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the Network layer tunnel comprises an IP tunnel, and wherein the means for transmitting packets from the gateway apparatus to the second apparatus is an IP network.

31. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the connection between the gateway apparatus and the second apparatus is a network connection.

33. An apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the Network layer packet is an IP packet, the data field of which consists of an IP packet as received by the Network layer tunnel from said TCP/IP stack.