SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING UPPER LAYER PROTOCOL MESSAGE BOUNDARIES

• US 20080025315A1
• Filed: 10/08/2007
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Elzur, Uri
• Granted Patent: US 8,135,016 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/394
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• 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 69/166 IP fragmentation; TCP segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

Systems and methods that identify the Upper Layer Protocol (ULP) message boundaries are provided. In one example, a method that identifies ULP message boundaries is provided. The method may include one or more of the following steps: attaching a framing header of a frame to a data payload to form a packet, the framing header being placed immediately after the byte stream transport protocol header, the framing header comprising a length field comprising a length of a framing protocol data unit (PDU); and inserting a marker in the packet, the marker pointing backwards to the framing header and being inserted at a preset interval.

Claims

1-37. -37. (canceled)

38. A method for identifying Upper Layer Protocol (“

ULP”

) messages in a transport layer byte stream, the method comprising;

forming a transport layer frame of the transport layer byte stream by, at least in part, attaching a framing header to a data payload of the transport layer frame, the framing header being attached at a location in the transport layer frame immediately after a transport protocol header of the transport layer frame; and

inserting a marker in the transport layer frame, the marker pointing backwards to the framing header and being inserted at a preset interval.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the preset interval is a preset interval in the transport layer byte stream.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the preset interval is smaller than a smallest size of a transport layer packet in the transport layer byte stream.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising determining the preset interval by, at least in part, negotiating with a receiver of the transport layer byte stream.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

initializing the preset interval; and

after initializing the preset interval, adjusting the preset interval by the Upper Layer Protocol.

43. The method of claim 38, wherein inserting a marker in the transport layer frame comprises inserting the marker in the transport layer frame, where the relative location between the inserted marker and the transport protocol header of a transport layer frame may vary between different transport layer frames.

44. The method of claim 38, wherein inserting a marker in the transport layer frame comprises inserting the marker at a location in the transport layer frame immediately after the transport protocol header and before the framing header.

45. The method of claim 38, wherein inserting a marker in the transport layer frame comprises inserting the marker at a location in the transport layer frame immediately following the framing header.

46. The method of claim 38, wherein inserting a marker in the transport layer frame comprises inserting the marker between headers in the transport layer frame, and further comprising inserting a second marker in a data payload portion of the transport layer frame, the second marker point backwards to the framing header and being inserted at the preset interval.

47. The method of claim 38, wherein inserting a marker in the transport layer frame comprises inserting the marker within a header of the transport layer frame, and further comprising inserting a second marker in a data payload portion of the transport layer frame, the second marker point backwards to the framing header and being inserted at the preset interval.

48. The method of claim 38, wherein inserting a marker in the transport layer frame comprises selecting a location in the transport layer frame at which to insert the marker, wherein said selecting comprises selecting between a plurality of locations comprising:

between headers of the transport layer frame, within a header of the transport layer frame, and within a data payload portion of the transport layer frame.

49. The method of claim 38, wherein the marker comprises:

a first portion comprising information pointing backwards to the framing header; and

a second portion comprising information different from the information of the first portion.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the second portion of the marker comprises framing information.

51. The method of claim 49, wherein the second portion of the marker comprises signaling information.

52. The method of claim 49, wherein the second portion of the marker comprises error correction information for correcting errors in the marker.

53. The method of claim 49, wherein the second portion of the marker comprises ULP-specific information.

54. The method of claim 38, wherein the marker comprises a delta value indicating a number of bytes before a marker location to a particular location within the framing header.

55. The method of claim 38, wherein the marker comprises a delta value indicating a number of bytes before a marker location to a beginning location of the framing header.

56. The method of claim 38, further comprising inserting at least one marker pointing backwards to a respective framing header in every transport layer frame of the transport layer byte stream.

57. The method of claim 38, further comprising forming each transport layer frame of the transport layer byte stream to be self-descriptive.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein forming each transport layer frame of the transport layer byte stream to be self-descriptive comprises forming each transport layer frame such that upper layer data carried by said transport layer frame is placed in a pre-designated memory location of a receiver of said transport layer frame, the memory location specific to the upper layer data, without requiring any other data, processing or information from other transport layer frames of the transport layer byte stream.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein forming each transport layer frame of the transport layer byte stream to be self-descriptive comprises forming each transport layer frame such that upper layer data carried by said transport layer frame is placed in a pre-designated memory location of a receiver of said transport layer frame, the memory location specific to the upper layer data, independently of other transport layer frames of the transport layer byte stream.

60. A method for locating a framing header in a received transport layer frame, the method comprising:

receiving a transport layer frame of a transport layer byte stream, the transport layer frame comprising a transport layer header, a framing header immediately after the transport protocol header, and a backwards-pointing marker that points backwards to the framing header;

locating the backwards-pointing marker in the received transport layer frame; and

using information stored in the backwards-pointing marker to locate the framing header of the transport layer frame.

61. A system for identifying ULP messages in a transport layer byte stream, the system comprising:

a transmitter that operates to, at least;

form a transport layer frame of the transport layer byte stream by, at least in part, attaching a framing header to a data payload of the transport layer frame, the framing header being attached at a location in the transport layer frame immediately after a transport protocol header of the transport layer frame; and

insert a marker in the transport layer frame, the marker pointing backwards to the framing header and being inserted at a preset interval.

62. A system for identifying ULP messages in a transport layer byte stream, the system comprising:

a receiver that operates to, at least;

receive a transport layer frame of a transport layer byte stream, the transport layer frame comprising a transport layer header, a framing header immediately after the transport protocol header, and a backwards-pointing marker that points backwards to the framing header;

locate the backwards-pointing marker in the received transport layer frame; and

use information stored in the backwards-pointing marker to locate the framing header of the transport layer frame.