SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ROUTING AND COMMUNICATING IN A HETEROGENEOUS NETWORK ENVIRONMENT

• US 20100318678A1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Published: 12/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
• Inventors: GUNDABATHULA, Satish, CHATURVEDI, Sivakumar
• Granted Patent: US 8,750,280 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/72 Routing based on the source address
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/741 Routing in networks with a plurality of addressing schemes, e.g. with both IPv4 and IPv6
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/76 Translation from the called subscriber's number to the outgoing or incoming control information

Abstract

An improved system and method are disclosed for peer-to-peer communications. In one example, the method is for connecting an endpoint that is separated from another endpoint by a symmetric network address translation device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an access server configured to perform an authentication process for a first endpoint within a peer-to-peer first network, wherein the authentication process includes receiving authentication information from the first endpoint, verifying the received authentication information, and sending a profile and a routing table from the access server to the first endpoint in response to the verifying, wherein the profile is uniquely associated with the first endpoint by the access server, and wherein the profile identifies a plurality of internal endpoints within the peer-to-peer network with which the first endpoint has permission to communicate and identifies whether each of the plurality of internal endpoints is online, and the routing table contains address information needed for the first endpoint to communicate directly with each of the plurality of internal endpoints that are identified as being online, and wherein the access server provides address information for a media router to the first endpoint; and

the media router configured to provide audio forwarding services directly to the first endpoint and to an external second endpoint that is in a second network accessible to the media router via a gateway, wherein a symmetric network address translation device is positioned between the first endpoint and the media router and between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, wherein the audio forwarding services include;

receiving a connection request from the first endpoint, wherein the connection request requests the establishment of an audio connection by the media router on behalf of the first endpoint;

creating a forwarding port on the media router and associating a first network address of the first endpoint with the forwarding port;

notifying the second endpoint of the forwarding port;

receiving audio information at the forwarding port from one of the first and second endpoints;

determining whether a source network address of the received audio information matches the first network address;

capturing first port information corresponding to a first port of the first endpoint used to send the audio information if the source network address matches the first network address;

determining whether second port information and a second network address corresponding to the second endpoint have been obtained by the media router; and

sending the audio information to the second endpoint using the second port information and the second network address only if the second port information and second network address have been obtained.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio forwarding services include discarding the audio information if the second port information and second network address have not been obtained by the router.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio forwarding services further include, if the step of determining identifies that the source network address of the received audio information does not match the first network address,

capturing the second port information and the second network address corresponding to second endpoint;

determining whether the first port information has been obtained by the media router; and

sending the audio information to the first endpoint only if the first port information has been obtained.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the audio forwarding services include discarding the audio information if the first port information has not been obtained by the router.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the second network is a public switched telephone network and the gateway is a public switched telephone network gateway.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the first endpoint is configured to use the media router only if the symmetric network address translation device is positioned between the first endpoint and the second endpoint.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the first endpoint is configured to contact the gateway directly if the symmetric network address translation device is not positioned between the first endpoint and the second endpoint.

8. A method for connecting a first endpoint having a first address and first port to a second endpoint having a second address and second port, wherein the first and second endpoints are in first and second networks, respectively, and wherein the first endpoint is separated from the second endpoint by a symmetric network address translation device, the method comprising:

creating a third port on a media router after receiving a connection request at the media router from the first endpoint;

determining whether audio received at the third port is from the first address;

capturing the first port if the audio received at the third port is from the first address;

determining whether the second address and second port are stored on the media router; and

forwarding the audio to the second endpoint if the second address and second port are stored on the media router.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising dropping the audio without forwarding if the second address and second port are not stored on the media router.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising capturing the second address and second port if the audio received at the third port is not from the first address and if the second address and second port have not been captured since creating the third port.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

determining whether the first port is stored on the media router; and

forwarding the audio to the first endpoint if the first port is stored on the media router.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising dropping the audio without forwarding if the first port is not stored on the media router.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising capturing the first address after receiving the connection request.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising removing a mapping for the third port if audio is not received at the third port for a predefined amount of time.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein a gateway is positioned in the second network between the media router and the second endpoint, the method further comprising notifying the gateway of the third port.

16. A system for peer-to-peer communications, the system comprising:

a media router positioned within a first network;

a first endpoint positioned within the first network and coupled to the media router, the first endpoint having a first address and a first port, wherein the first endpoint is configured to communicate with a second endpoint positioned within a second network and coupled to the media router, the second endpoint having a second address and second port, and wherein the first endpoint is coupled to symmetric network address translation functionality separating it from the media router and the second endpoint; and

a plurality of executable instructions stored on the media router for execution by a processor contained within the media router, the instructions including;

instructions for creating a third port on the media router after receiving a connection request at the media router from the first endpoint;

instructions for determining whether audio received at the third port is from the first address;

instructions for capturing the first port if the audio received at the third port is from the first address;

instructions for determining whether the second address and second port are stored on the media router; and

instructions for forwarding the audio to the second endpoint if the second address and second port are stored on the media router.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising instructions for dropping the audio without forwarding if the second address and second port are not stored on the media router.

18. The system of claim 16 further comprising instructions for capturing the second address and second port if the audio received at the third port is not from the first address.

19. The system of claim 18 further comprising instructions for:

determining whether the first port is stored on the media router; and

forwarding the audio to the first endpoint if the first port is stored on the media router; and

dropping the audio without forwarding if the first port is not stored on the media router.

20. The system of claim 16 further comprising instructions for capturing the first address after receiving the connection request.

21. The system of claim 16 further comprising instructions for removing a mapping for the third port if audio is not received at the third port for a predefined amount of time.

22. The system of claim 16 further comprising a gateway positioned in the second network between the media router and the second endpoint, the system further comprising instructions for notifying the gateway of the third port.