Distributed application communication routing system for internet protocol networks

• US 20080144617A1
• Filed: 12/13/2006
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Molsberry, Launa B., Royalty, Charles D., Toolson, Jeffery L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,462,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/308 Route determination based on user's profile, e.g. premium users

Abstract

IP-based messages composed by distributed applications on-board an aircraft are routed to ground destinations through non-IP based communication interfaces that use packet data transmission. Addressable routing daemons resident in on-board computers are used to route messages from an on-board TCP/IP network to a selected communication interface. A communications management controller routes the messages to the communication interfaces by addressing the routing daemon associated with the communication interface selected to transmit the message.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting messages from an aircraft to a ground station, comprising the steps of:

(A) generating a message on-board the aircraft;

(B) associating a router with each of a plurality of communication interfaces;

(C) assigning an address to each of the routers;

(D) selecting one of the communication interfaces for use in transmitting the message from the aircraft to the ground station;

(E) sending the message to the address of the router associated with the communication interface selected in step (D); and

,

(F) transmitting the message from the aircraft to the ground station using the communication interface selected in step (D).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

step (A) includes composing a header for the message, and

step (D) includes inserting information into the header that identifies the selected communication interface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (E) is performed using Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (A) include structuring the message in a file transfer protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (E) is performed by sending the message as a string of characters forming a file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein step (F) includes transmitting the file to the ground station in a series of packets.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(G) assembling the packets into the file at the ground station.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(G) selecting a routing policy for routing the messages based on preselected routing criteria; and

,

(H) routing the messages to the communication interfaces based on the selected routing policy.

9. A method of transmitting messages from on-board a vehicle to an off-board location, comprising the steps of:

(A) generating a message within an IP-based local area network (LAN) on-board the vehicle;

(B) selecting one of a plurality of communication interfaces for use in transmitting the message from the vehicle to the off-board location;

(C) sending the message over the LAN to an address of a router associated with the communication interface selected in step (B);

(D) routing the message to the communication interface selected in step (B) using the associated router; and

,

(E) transmitting the message from the vehicle to the off-board location using the communication interface selected in step (B).

10. The method of claim 9, wherein step (C) is performed using Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

11. The method of claim 9, wherein step (A) includes composing a file containing the message and a header identifying the destination of the message.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein step (B) includes forming a header for the message and inserting information into the header that identifies the selected communication interface.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein step (C) is performed by sending the message over the LAN as a string of characters forming a file.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein step (E) includes transmitting the file to the off-board location in a series of packets.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

(F) assembling the packets into the file at the off-board location.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

(F) uniquely associating a plurality of routers respectively with the communication interfaces; and

,

(G) assigning a unique address to each router on the LAN.

17. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

(F) selecting a routing policy for routing the messages based on preselected routing criteria; and

,

(H) routing the messages to the communication interfaces based on the selected routing policy.

18. A communication system for an aerospace vehicle, comprising:

a local area network (LAN) on-board the vehicle;

at least one application on-board the vehicle connected to the LAN, the application generating messages to be delivered to an off-board location;

a plurality of communication interfaces for delivering messages from the vehicle to the off-board location;

a plurality of router daemons respectively associated with the communication interfaces and each operative for routing messages to the associated communication interface, each of the router daemons having an address on the LAN; and

,

a communication manager for managing the delivery of messages from the application to the routing daemons based on the addresses of the routing daemons.

19. The communication system of claim 18, wherein at least one of the routing daemons includes a set of programmed instructions stored on-board the vehicle.

20. The communication system of claim 18, further comprising at least one computer on the LAN, and wherein at least one of the routing daemons includes software running on the computer.

21. The communication system of claim 18, wherein the communicating interfaces include at least one of:

a satellite communication system,

a wireless LAN,

a packet-switched cellular network.

22. The communication system of claim 18, wherein the communication manager includes a routing policy for governing the routing of messages to the routing daemons.

23. A system for delivering messages from an aircraft to the ground, comprising:

an IP-based network on the aircraft using a transmission control protocol to transmit messages over the network;

at least one application coupled with the network and generating messages to be sent to the ground;

a plurality of communication interfaces each operative for delivering messages from the aircraft to the ground;

a controller on-board the aircraft for selecting one of the communication interfaces to be used to transmit a message from the application to the ground; and

,

a plurality of addressable routers respectively associated with the plurality of communication interfaces, the routers being addressable by the controller to route messages to the associated communication interface for transmission to the ground.

24. The communication system of claim 23, wherein each of the addressable routers comprises software.

25. The communication system of claim 23, wherein each of the addressable routers has a unique IP address on the network.

26. The communication system of claim 23, wherein the controller includes a routing policy for governing the routing of messages to the addressable routers.