System and method for improving the balance between download and upload traffic on the Internet and/or other networks.
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Abstract
Fast connections of end users to the Internet are becoming more and more common today, and the most common types of these fast connections are ADSL and cable modems. These connections are typically highly asymmetric and allow typically 500-1500 KBit per second (most typically 750 or 1500 Kbit) for the downlink and typically for example 64 KBit or 96 Kbit or 128 Kbit per second for the uplink (although standard ADSL can in principle support up to 8 Mbit per second download speed and up to 800 Kbit per second upload speed), based on the assumption that most users download much more data than they upload. However, at least for some users these limitations are highly undesirable, and these are for example users or small businesses or organizations who want to use the connection also for example for VOIP (voice over IP) communications or Video-over IP communications or conferences or for example running web servers. Actually ADSL is beginning to be replaced by VDSL in places where the distance to the nearest street switchboard is about 1.2 Kilometers or less, which in principle allows up to 52 Mbit per second Download speed and up to 16 Mbit per Second Upload speed. However, even when end users become connected directly by fiber-optics, the typical ratio of much more Downlink versus Uplink will remain. The present invention tries to solve the problem for users who need constantly or on a changing basis more Uplink, by preferably allowing users to preferably temporarily change their Uplink-Downlink ratio on a need basis, while preferably keeping the general balance across users. Other variations allow also compensating for example for variations of the average ratio across users for example according to time of day. The patent also covers some relevant issues related to IP telephony.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1-18. -18. (canceled)
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19. A method that allows users to change their Uplink-Downlink ratio on at least one of the Internet and other networks, while keeping a general balance across users, comprising at least one of the following steps:
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a. Compensating for variations or fluctuations of the average ratio across users by using lines with switchable directions at least part of the way;
b. Allowing users to flexibly define their desired Up-Down ratio. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29)
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26. A method that allows to enforce different priorities on packets in order to enforce different priorities to various tasks as defined by the user and/or by the ISP, comprising at least one of the following steps:
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a. Changing the IP protocol so that the packet header carries also a priority value, which can be added by at least one of software on the user'"'"'s computer and/or by the ISP;
b. Allowing the user to assign higher priority to certain download or upload jobs, and the ISP can change the priority of the user'"'"'s outgoing packets and/or the priority of packets that will be sent back to the user;
c. The priority set by the ISP can override any priority set by the user or by any software on the user'"'"'s computer;
d. In order to enable the ISP to affect the priority of packets that are downloaded by the user, the Internet Protocol is changed so that requests for data can carry a priority value which is respected by the server that provides that data and is automatically added by the server to packets sent back from it;
e. If identical packets going to the same general area are condensed into a single copy of the identical data with a multiple list of targets, the condensed packet is given highest priority, and the priority data is dropped or the priority value is kept for each target address and is later used when reconstructing the original packets;
f. If the original condensed packet is replicated into smaller groups as it nears the destination, the priority values of the constituent packets begin to take more effect in the smaller groups.
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30. A method that enables users to use Internet VOIP telephony with the normally familiar phone numbers without using the phone company'"'"'s normal telephony infrastructure, comprising at least one of the following steps:
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a. A single phone is used which can be used both for normal phone line and for IP telephony directly through the Internet;
b. A single phone is used which can automatically switch between normal phone line to IP telephony directly through the Internet;
c. In order to solve the problem of compatibility of numbers, one or more phone-table server databases are available over the Internet, so that the Internet identity of users can be linked to their phone numbers, so that when dialing a “
normal”
number through the Internet, the system automatically first goes to one of these phone-number-servers to check if such a phone number already has an Internet identity linked to it;
d. In order to prevent people from illegally “
hijacking”
a phone number of a person or a company and linking it to the wrong Internet identity, users can get an entry that links a phone number with a given Internet identity only upon submitting sufficient evidence that they are indeed who the claim to be and indeed own the phone number in question or have the right to assign it;
e. If the user is connected through ADSL or VDSL, since at least the phone company'"'"'s switchboard and/or the ISP can know both real the phone number though which the user is connected and his/her IP address, this address can be automatically updated in the special phone-server Databases. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38)
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37. (canceled)
Specification