METHOD OF DATA TRANSMISSION IN A DATA COMMUNICATION NETWORK

• US 20110026528A1
• Filed: 10/13/2010
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rateze Remote Mgmt. L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Wengen Wireless LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Boyd, Nathan D. T., Breslow, Noah Joseph, Torluemke, Grey A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,644,319 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/826 Involving periods of time

Abstract

A method of data transmission in a data communication network includes negotiating a connection between a source terminal and a destination terminal in the data communication network. During the connection negotiation process, optimal field lengths are determined for recording a source identifier and a sequence number in data packets transmitted in the connection. The source identifier identifies a connection from the source cnd to the destination end of the data transmission, while the sequence number identifies the relative position of a data packet in a series of data packets transmitted in the connection. The length of the source identifier and sequence number fields may either be calculated or selected from a set of predetermined field length values. Data packets formatted according to different transmission protocols (“secondary data packets”) that are received for transmission through the data communication network are packed into one or more “primary data packets” formatted according to the transmission protocol of the data communication network. In addition to a source identifier and sequence number, the primary data packets include a first packet offset to identify the location of a first new secondary data packet that is packed into the primary data packet. A first packet offset field length is determined during connection negotiation. The data transmission method of the invention includes packing one or more secondary data packets, or a portion thereof, in a primary data packet to fill the primary data packet, thus minimizing unused data bits in the primary data packet. After transmission, the primary data packets are reordered, if necessary, and the secondary data packets are unpacked therefrom.

Claims

1-31. -31. (canceled)

32. A method of data transmission in a data communication network, comprising:

generating a network data packet formatted for transmission from a source terminal to a destination terminal in the data communication network, the network data packet having a header and a payload, the header including a sequence number field and a first-packet offset field, said generating including packing into the payload of the network data packet at least a portion of an input data packet to the source terminal;

recording a sequence number in the sequence number field, the sequence number identifying the relative position of the network data packet in a series of network data packets;

recording a first-packet offset value in the first-packet offset field, the first-packet offset value identifying the location in the network data packet payload of at least a portion of a first input data packet that is packed in the network data packet payload and that has not been partially packed in a network data packet payload of a previous network data packet; and

transmitting the network data packet from the source terminal to the destination terminal.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein said generating a network data packet includes:

determining if the network data packet contains sufficient available payload length to transmit an input data packet; and

if the network data packet does not contain sufficient payload length to transmit the input data packet;

dividing the input packet into a first portion of a length less than or equal to the available payload length of the network data packet and a second portion containing the remainder of the input data packet; and

incorporating the first portion into the network data packet.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

incorporating the second portion into one or more subsequent network data packets.

35. A method of data transmission from a source terminal to a destination terminal in a data communication network, the method comprising:

generating a network data packet having a header and a payload;

packing one or more input data packets to the source terminal in the payload of the network data packet until the number of bits remaining available in the network data packet payload is less than the number of bits in an input data packet not yet packed;

dividing the input data packet not yet packed to define a first portion and a second portion, wherein the number of bits in the first portion equals the number of bits remaining available in the network data packet payload;

packing the first portion in the network data packet payload;

generating one or more additional network data packets;

packing the second portion in the payload of the one or more additional network data packets, dividing the second portion as necessary to fit into additional portions less than or equal to the length of the payload of the one or more additional network data packets; and

transmitting the network data packets from the source terminal to the destination terminal via the data communication network.

36. A method of data transmission in a data communication network, comprising:

generating a network data packet for transmission from a source terminal to a destination terminal in the data communication network, the network data packet including one or more input data packets to the source terminal packed therein, the network data packet further including a first-packet offset field having a predetermined field length, the first-packet offset field for recording a first-packet offset value that identifies the location in the network data packet payload of at least a portion of a first input data packet that is packed in the network data packet payload and that has not been partially packed in a network data packet payload of a previous network data packet;

recording a first-packet offset value in the first-packet offset field, the length of the first-packet offset value equaling the predetermined first-packet offset field length; and

transmitting the network data packet from the source terminal to the destination terminal.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the predetermined first-packet offset field length is determined by the destination terminal during a connection negotiation conducted between the source terminal and the destination terminal prior to the generating and transmitting of the network data packet.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the network data packet further includes one or more other data fields and the predetermined first-packet offset field length is determined based on the length of the one or more other data fields.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the one or more other data fields includes a source identifier field and a sequence number field.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein the one or more input data packets are packed at selected intervals in the network data packet and the number of bits in the network data packet between the selected intervals depends on the predetermined first-packet offset field length.

41. A method of data transmission in a data communication network, comprising:

receiving network data packets from a source terminal of the data communication network at a destination terminal of the data communication network, wherein a respective network data packet comprises a header portion and a payload portion, the payload portion comprising at least a portion of one or more input data packets that were inputted to the source terminal, and the header portion comprising at least a network packet sequence number and a first-packet offset value that indicates where, within the payload portion, a first new input data packet, or portion thereof, begins, wherein the first new input data packet corresponds to an input data packet that was not partially packed into a payload portion of a previous network data packet;

locating a starting position of a first input data packet of a first network data packet based on the first-packet offset value; and

unpacking at least one input data packet or portion of an input data packet from the first network data packet.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein the network data packets are reordered at the destination terminal according to their respective network packet sequence numbers.

43. The method according to claim 41, wherein the network data packet includes at least one portion of an input data packet not fully contained in the network data packet, the method further comprising appending the portion of the input data packet to another portion of the input data packet unpacked from a different network data packet.

44. The method according to claim 41, wherein the network data packet includes a portion of an input data packet not fully contained in the first network data packet, and wherein the method further comprises retaining the unpacked portion of the input data packet in a memory with a timer, and deleting the unpacked portion from the memory when a period of time measured by the timer expires.