METHODS OF TRANSFORMING DATA PACKETS AND SYSTEMS USING EXECUTABLE DATA PACKETS

• US 20170149662A1
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Atleos Corp.
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Penumethsa, Aditya
• Granted Patent: US 10,938,719 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/74 Address processing for routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

Methods of transforming a data packet are described. More particularly methods of transforming a data packet, that include receiving at a router a communication data packet from a server, extracting embedded executable instructions from the communication data packet, and transforming the communication data packet at the router by executing, with a processor of the router, the embedded executable instructions are described. Additionally, router in communication with a Self-Service Terminal (SST) or network of SSTs that utilize data packets have executable instructions are described.

Claims

1. A method of transforming a data packet, comprising:

receiving at a router a communication data packet from a server,

extracting embedded executable instructions from the communication data packet, and

transforming the communication data packet at the router by executing, with a processor of the router, the embedded executable instructions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the embedded executable instructions include an identity of a second router to which the data packet is to be transferred from the router.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising transferring the communication data packet from the router to the identified second router.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the embedded executable instructions further comprise an identity of a third router to which the data packet is to be transferred from the second router and the method further comprises transferring the communication data packet from the second router to the third router.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the communication data packet is further transformed at the second router.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transforming the communication data packet includes removing the embedded executable instructions from the communication data packet.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving at the router a second communication data packet from the server, extracting embedded executable instructions from the second communication data packet, wherein transforming the communication data packet at the router includes executing the embedded executable instructions from the second communication data packet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the embedded executable instructions comprises a hop count value that is incremented each time the communication data packet is transferred between differing routers in a network, and a pre-determined terminal hop count value.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the communication data packet is destroyed once the hop count value reaches the pre-determined hop count terminal value.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the executable code comprises a data cloning instruction is executed by the processor of the router to clone data in the communication data packet a plurality of times at the router.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data cloning instruction are executed after a threshold number of requests for the data are received at the router.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the embedded executable instructions include instructions to disable functionality of the router.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the instructions to disable the functionality of the router further include instructions to cause the router to sleep until a new data packet arrives to enable the node to restart or until a timeout occurs.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the embedded executable instructions are embedded into the data packet at a router.

15. A router connected to a wide area network configured to communicate with a local area network of Self-Service Terminals (SSTs), comprising:

a processor to receive a communication data packet, the communications data packet including embedded executable instructions which, when extracted and run by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

cloning the communications data packet; and

transferring cloned copies of the communications data packet to a plurality of SSTs, wherein the cloned copies of the communications data packet include product update information.

16. The router of claim 15, wherein the cloned copies of the communications data packet do not include embedded executable instructions.

17. The router of claim 15, wherein the product update information includes pricing update information corresponding to a scannable item, the scannable item represented in a database in the SST.

18. A router in communication with a Self-Service Terminal (SST) through a server, the router comprising:

one or more processors coupled to a memory device, the memory device containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

receiving an executable data packet created by the SST, from the server, that includes a readable instruction that the data packet is a payment packet;

determining that the data packet is a payment packet; and

transforming the executable data packet at the router by adding new encryption information to the executable data packet.

19. The router of claim 18, wherein the memory device containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations further comprising:

sending the executable data packet to a second router from the first router.

20. The router of claim 19, wherein the second router further transforms the by adding new encryption information to the executable data packet