Controlling transportation of data packets

• US 20050129013A1
• Filed: 08/23/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Rasanen, Juha A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,916,726 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/34 Source routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A method for transport control in a packet switched communication system is disclosed. In the method a data packet assigned with a destination address is received at a node. It may then be detected that the destination address does not meet a filtering criteria. It may then be checked if at least one further destination address has been assigned for the data packet. If it is found that at least one further destination address is assigned for the data packet, the filtering criteria is applied to the at least one further destination address. The data packet is forwarded from the node to a next node in response to detection that the data packet is assigned with a further destination address that meets the filtering criteria.

Claims

1. A method for transport control in a packet switched communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving in a node a data packet assigned with a destination address;

detecting that the destination address does not meet a filtering criteria;

checking if at least one further destination address is assigned for the data packet;

applying the filtering criteria to the at least one further destination address if the at least one further destination address is assigned for the data packet; and

forwarding the data packet from the node to a next node in response to detection that the data packet is assigned with the at least one further destination address that meets the filtering criteria.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of checking comprises looking for a header including at least one address.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of checking comprises looking for a routing header.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of checking if the at least one address in the header meets the filtering criteria.

5. A method as claimed claim 1, wherein the step of applying the filtering criteria to the at least one further destination address comprises checking if the at least one further destination address meets the filtering criteria that is based on the final destination address of the data packet.

6. A method as claimed claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the node with the filtering criteria when setting up a data carrier for transportation of the data packet.

7. A method as claimed claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the node with the filtering criteria when modifying a data carrier for transportation of the data packet.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said providing step comprises modifying the data carrier comprising a packet data protocol context.

9. A method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the step of sending the filtering criteria from a communications policy controlling function of a communication system.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of updating the filtering criteria in response to finding an assigned destination address for the data packet that meets the filtering criteria.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the updating step comprises updating the filtering criteria to allow subsequent data packets with the assigned destination address to be forwarded from the node.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the updating step comprises carrying the subsequent data packets on the same data carrier.

13. A method as claimed claim 1, further comprising the step of assigning the destination address by an originating entity wherefrom the packets originate.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the assigning step comprises assigning the destination address by the originating entity, in which the originating entity comprises a mobile user equipment.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving in the node, in which the node comprises a gateway.

16. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, said medium comprising program code adapted to execute steps for transport control in a packet switched communication system, when the program code is run on a computer, the steps comprising:

receiving in a node a data packet assigned with a destination address;

detecting that the destination address does not meet a filtering criteria;

checking if at least one further destination address is assigned for the data packet;

applying the filtering criteria to the at least one further destination address if the at least one further destination address is assigned for the data packet; and

forwarding the data packet from the node to a next node in response to detection that the data packet is assigned with the at least one further destination address that meets the filtering criteria.

17. A node for a packet switched communication system, the node comprising:

an input for receiving data packets assigned with at least one destination address;

an output for forwarding the data packets to another node based on the at least one destination address;

control means for checking if the at least one additional destination address has been assigned for a data packet of said data packets;

a filter for filtering destination addresses of received data packets, the configuration of the node being such that

a data packet whose final destination address does not meet a filtering criteria is forwarded from the node if the data packet is assigned with an additional destination address that meets the filtering criteria.

18. A node as claimed in claim 17, wherein the filtering criteria is based on final destination addresses of the data packets.

19. A node as claimed in claim 17, wherein the filtering criteria of the filter comprises updateable filtering criteria.

20. A node as claimed in claim 19, wherein the filter is configured to apply an updated filtering criteria to subsequent data packets on a data carrier that follow the data packet containing an additional destination address that has passed the filter.

21. A node as claimed in claim 17, wherein the node comprises a gateway.

22. A packet switched communication system, comprising:

an intermediate node configured to receive and forward data packets based on destination addresses of the data packets, the intermediate node being provided with control means for checking if at least one additional destination address of the destination addresses is assigned for a data packet of the data packets;

a filter for filtering the destination addresses of the received data packets, the configuration of the intermediate node being such that a data packet of the data packets whose destination address does not meet a filtering criteria is forwarded from the intermediate node if the data packet is assigned with an additional destination address that meets the filtering criteria; and

a policy controller entity for assigning the filtering criteria for data carriers via the intermediate node.

23. A communication system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the policy controller entity is configured to provide the intermediate node with the filtering criteria when a data carrier for transportation of the data packet is set-up or modified.

24. A communication system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the filtering criteria is based on the final destination addresses of data packets.

25. A communication system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the filtering criteria of the filter comprises updateable filtering criteria.

26. A communication system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the filter is configured to apply an updated filtering criteria to data packets on a data carrier that follow a data packet containing an additional destination address that has passed the filter.