Method of operating internet protocol address and subnet system using the same

• US 20060271682A1
• Filed: 05/26/2006
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pantech Corporation (Ideahub, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pantech & Curitel Communications Incorporated (Pantech Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jang, Seok Joon, Choo, Ho Cheol
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,163 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/659 Internet protocol version 6 [IPv6] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/668 Internet protocol [IP] address subnets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses

Abstract

A method of operating an Internet protocol (IP) address that effectively allocates, creates, and processes an interface identifier (ID) of an IP address area, and a subnet system using the same are provided. Allocation is done such that in the IP address area including a subnet prefix area and an Interface ID area, certain bits of the Interface ID area are used as an index area of a subnet gateway. In this case, the allocation is implemented in order from the higher layer to the lower layer so that the Interface ID area is sequentially allocated from the higher bits thereof for the index areas of the respective layers. The combination of the certain bits of the allocated Interface ID and the subnet prefix area of the IP address area is used as the subnet ID of the respective subnet layers. The lowest subnet gateway allocates the Interface ID to terminating equipment trying to access to the IP network based on a format of the IP address.

Claims

1. A method of operating an Internet protocol (IP) address, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) in an IP area including a subnet prefix area and an Interface ID area, allocating certain bits of the Interface ID area as an index area of a subnet gateway;

(b) allocating the combination of the certain bits and the subnet prefix area as the subnet ID area; and

(c) allocating an Interface ID for terminating equipment having access to an IP network based on a format of the IP address in a lowest subnet gateway.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step (a) includes a step (d) of allocating the certain bits as the index area for each subnet gateway constituting two or more subnet layers.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step (d) comprises:

a step (e) of, at the subnet gateway, allocating higher partial bits of the certain bits in the Interface ID area as the index area of the lower subnet gateway; and

a step (f) of, at the lower subnet gateway, allocating partial bits following the higher partial bits of the certain bits as the index area of the next lower subnet gateway.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step (c) includes:

selecting a value that is not identical to that of allocated to other terminating equipment as a termination identifier of a portion of the Interface ID area that is not included in the subnet ID area;

extracting a value of the Interface ID area in the subnet ID area; and

allocating the combination of the extracted value and the selected termination identifier as an Interface ID for the terminating equipment.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a step of, at the subnet gateway, processing input packets using the IP address and transmitting them to the destination.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the packet transmission step includes:

at the subnet gateway, checking whether external input packets are to be transmitted to its subnet;

if the packets are to be transmitted to its subnet, masking a certain higher bits of the Interface ID and transmitting the masked packets to the corresponding lower subnet gateway matched thereto;

at the lower subnet gateway, checking whether the packets inputted from the higher subnet gateway are to be transmitted to its subnet; and

if the packets are to be transmitted to its subnet, masking a certain bits following the certain higher bits and forwarding the masked packets to the next lower subnet gateway matched thereto to transmit them to the corresponding destination.

7. A subnet system comprising:

a first gateway; and

at least one

lower layered gateway constituting at least one lower layer to the first gateway,

wherein the respective IP address of the lower layered gateway constituting the lower layer to the first gateway uses certain bits of an Interface ID area of the IP address of the first gateway as each index area.

8. The subnet system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the IP address of a next lower gateway (i.e. a second gateway) to the first gateway in the lower gateway uses higher partial bits (i.e. a first extension bits) of the certain bits of the first gateway as the index area of the second gateway, and wherein the IP address of a next lower gateway (i.e. a third gateway) to the second gateway uses higher partial bits (i.e. a second extension bits) following the first extension bits of the certain bits of the first gateway as the index area.