METHOD FOR SETTING UP APPLICATIONS BY INTERCEPTION ON AN EXISTING NETWORK

• US 20100287284A1
• Filed: 01/16/2007
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Activnetworks
• Original Assignee: Activnetworks
• Inventors: Nonnenmacher, Rémy, Cuesta, Serge
• Application Number:
  US12/161,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20100287284A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for extending applications in an existing network by intercepting communications between a client application (C) and a server application (S). It includes fixing a device (B) in a point of interception (I) of a communication line (L), which is known to support all the packet exchanges between the client (C) and the server (S) applications and enabling a connection termination point to be created on the new application (N) emulating the network identity of the application originally requested by the client application (C).

Claims

1. Method for setting up applications in an existing network by interception of communications between a customer application and a server application, said method comprising the positioning of an item of equipment at an interception point of a line of communication that is known to support all of the packet exchanges between the customer and server applications, and allowing the creation of a connection termination point on a new application by imitating the network identity of the application originally requested by the customer application.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein it is applied to networks in which the applications have a single address, and especially IP networks where the address of an application is characterised by an IP address and a port number.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment comprises means of imitating the network identity of the customer application in order to open a communication between the new application and the server application.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein the imitation of the network identity of a customer or server application is incomplete and sufficient to satisfy the identification requirements.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment comprises relay means which allow the wire to wire connection of the line to be re-established in the event of a power or command being cut (either deliberately or by a watchdog application) in order to avoid disrupting the line in the event of malfunctioning of the software or hardware.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment is multiplied in order to be placed in series on the same communication line in order to produce redundancy or load sharing effects so as to improve the reliability or efficiency of the processing.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the decision to intercept a communication is based on a system of rules configured in the item of equipment, that the interception is not necessarily automatic or obligatory and that in the absence of a rule for the interception or decision on the item of equipment, the communication will be established normally as in the absence of the item of equipment.

8. Method according to claim 1, further comprising setting up an application “

frontally”

with respect to one or more other applications.

9. Method according to claim 8, comprises comprising a step consisting of balancing the load between the customer and server applications.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment is designed to accommodate several applications

11. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment may be specially created, be simply a software programme operating on an existing computer with the required interface characteristics in terms of number and quality, or a simple electronic board added to an existing computer or item of equipment.

12. Method according to claim 1, wherein for the processing of each packet entering the item of equipment, said method comprising the following steps:

the transmission of the packet to a new application if the network address elements indicated in the packet correspond to the context of a communication that has already been intercepted by the equipment,

otherwise;

if the packet indicates a start of connection and that there is an internal rule of the item if equipment which allows the interception and that a new application is ready to receive the communication, then a communication context is created within the item of equipment which imitates the network identity of the service originally requested,

otherwise, the packet is transmitted to the interface corresponding to its original addressee.

13. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment has several network ports and the capacity to behave as a switch and to use all of the optimisations.

14. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method is used to modify the behaviour of an existing server application and not simply to replace it by a new application.

15. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment has the capacity of autonomously-bridging the two terminations of two connections abandoned by a new application itself without closure.

16. Method according to claim 1, wherein the item of equipment is designed to delegate the processing to other items of equipment present in the network.