Method of providing a real-time communication connection

• US 20070206579A1
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Voith, Thomas, Riemer, Joachim
• Granted Patent: US 7,970,014 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC

Abstract

The invention concerns a method of providing a real-time communication connection over an IP communication network between a first entity and a second entity, as well as a sending and a receiving device to execute the method. The basic idea of the invention is to fragment non-real-time streams associated with the real-time communication connection at the first entity, to multiplex the fragments of the non-real-time streams into real-time streams of the real-time communication connection at the first entity, and to transmit the multiplexed real-time streams comprising the real-time streams and the fragments of the non-real-time streams via the real-time communication connection from the first entity to the second entity. In order to ensure a reliable quality of service of the real-time data, the real-time part of the multiplexed data stream is assigned the highest priority for transmission. At the second entity, the multiplexed real-time streams are demultiplexed, the fragments of the non-real-time streams are re-composed and the original non-real-time streams are re-generated.

Claims

1. A method of providing a real-time communication connection over an IP communication network between a first entity and a second entity, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

fragmenting signalling traffic and/or control traffic associated with the real-time communication connection at the first entity;

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic into a real-time traffic stream of the communication connection and generating a resulting data stream comprising the packets of the real-time traffic stream multiplexed with the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic at the first entity;

transmitting said data stream via an IP-based real-time communication connection from the first entity to the second entity wherein the packets of the real-time traffic stream are assigned the absolute priority of transmission, and packets of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic are transmitted in fragments using the available space for their transmission without narrowing the bandwidth available for the packets of the real-time traffic stream;

demultiplexing said data stream and obtaining the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic and the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection at the second entity;

re-composing the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic and generating the original signalling traffic and/or control traffic at the second entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

assigning, for multiplexing, to the packets of the real-time traffic stream comprised within said data stream the highest priority with respect to transmission via the IP-based real-time communication connection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling and/or control traffic into the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection by generating separate data stream packets for the signalling and/or control traffic and the real-time traffic, whereby each data stream packet comprises an IP header, a UDP header, application information about the type of the payload, namely signalling traffic, control traffic, or real-time traffic, a stream ID, a sequence number, information about the length of the payload, and the payload of the signalling traffic or control traffic or real-time traffic.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling and/or control traffic into the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection by generating separate data stream packets for the signalling and/or control traffic, and the real-time traffic, whereby each data stream packet comprises an IP header, a UDP header, and a RTP header, and whereby the data stream packets for the signalling traffic and/or control traffic comprise a RTP header extension with an additional UDP pseudo header and with the payload of the signalling traffic or the control traffic.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling and/or control traffic into the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection by generating separate data stream packets for the signalling and/or control traffic, and the real-time traffic, whereby each data stream packet comprises an IP header, a UDP header, and a RTP header, and whereby the data stream packets for the signalling traffic and/or control traffic comprise a RTP header extension with additional framing information comprising a segment number, a total number of segments, and a checksum, and with the payload of the signalling traffic or the control traffic.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling and/or control traffic into the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection by generating separate data stream packets for the signalling and/or control traffic, and the real-time traffic, whereby each data stream packet comprises an IP header with a new Internet Protocol number, and whereby the data stream packet for the signalling traffic and/or control traffic comprises an additional UDP pseudo header with the payload of the signalling traffic or control traffic, and the data stream packet for the real-time traffic comprises an additional RTP and UDP pseudo header with the payload of the real-time traffic.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling and/or control traffic into the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection by generating a data stream packet comprising an IP header, a UDP lite header, and a RTP header; and

inserting the signalling traffic or the control traffic together with additional framing information comprising a segment number, a total number of segments, and a checksum, into the additional payload section of the UDP lite packet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling and/or control traffic into the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection by generating a data stream packet comprising an IP header, a UDP header, and a RTP header according to redundant RTP; and

inserting the signalling traffic or the control traffic together with a UDP pseudo header into the redundant section of the redundant RTP packet.

9. A sending device for providing a real-time communication connection over an IP communication network to another entity, wherein the device comprises a control unit adapted for:

fragmenting signalling traffic and/or control traffic associated with the real-time communication connection;

multiplexing the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic into a real-time traffic stream of the communication connection and generating a resulting data stream comprising the packets of the real-time traffic stream multiplexed with the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic;

sending said data stream via an IP-based real-time communication connection to the other entity wherein the packets of the real-time traffic stream are assigned the absolute priority of transmission, and packets of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic are transmitted in fragments using the available space for their transmission without narrowing the bandwidth available for the packets of the real-time traffic stream.

10. A receiving device for providing a real-time communication connection over an IP communication network to another entity, wherein the device comprises a control unit adapted for:

receiving a data stream via an IP-based real-time communication connection from the other entity, the data stream comprising packets of a real-time traffic stream multiplexed with fragments of a signalling traffic and/or a control traffic at the other entity wherein the packets of the real-time traffic stream are assigned the absolute priority of transmission, and packets of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic are transmitted in fragments using the available space for their transmission without narrowing the bandwidth available for the packets of the real-time traffic stream;

demultiplexing said data stream and obtaining the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic and the real-time traffic stream of the communication connection;

re-composing the fragments of the signalling traffic and/or control traffic and generating the original signalling traffic and/or control traffic.