TECHNIQUES FOR ESTABLISHING A COMMUNICATION CONNECTION BETWEEN TWO NETWORK ENTITIES VIA DIFFERENT NETWORK FLOWS

• US 20180034691A1
• Filed: 07/27/2017
• Published: 02/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Inventors: AMEND, Markus, BOGENFELD, Eckard, MATZ, Andreas Philipp
• Granted Patent: US 10,530,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access

Abstract

A method for establishing a communication connection between a first network entity and a second network entity via at least two different network flows includes: transmitting a first request, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via a first network flow; transmitting at least one second request, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via at least one second network flow, wherein the at least one second request is transmitted by the first network entity before the first network entity receives a reply to the first request from the second network entity; and establishing the communication connection between the first network entity and the second network entity based on at least one of the first request or the at least one second request.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a communication connection between a first network entity and a second network entity via at least two different network flows, the method comprising:

transmitting a first request, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via a first network flow;

transmitting at least one second request, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via at least one second network flow, wherein the at least one second request is transmitted by the first network entity before the first network entity receives a reply to the first request from the second network entity; and

establishing the communication connection between the first network entity and the second network entity based on at least one of the first request or the at least one second request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises information (MP_CAPABLE, Key_A) indicating the first network flow to be configured as primary network flow;

and wherein the at least one second request comprises information (MP_CAPABLE, Key_A) indicating the at least one second network flow also to be configured as primary network flow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two different network flows are configured to couple the first network entity with the second network entity via a multipoint-to-point connection, a multipoint-to-multipoint connection or a point-to-multipoint connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first request is initiated approximately at the same time as transmitting the at least one second request.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

enabling data communication, by the first network entity, responsive to a decision based on the reception of the reply to the first request from the second network entity and/or a reception of at least one reply to the at least one second request from the second network entity;

transmitting a first acknowledgement, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via the first network flow;

transmitting at least one second acknowledgement, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via the at least one second network flow; and

configuring, by the second network entity, the network flow of the at least two different network flows via which the respective acknowledgement from the first network entity is first received by the second network entity, as primary network flow.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

configuring, by the second network entity, the at least one other network flow of the at least two different network flows via which the respective acknowledgement from the first network entity is received thereafter by the second network entity, as at least one secondary network flow.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

configuring the primary network flow as primary flow according to the multipath transport control protocol (MPTCP); and

configuring the at least one secondary network flow as subsequent flow according to the MPTCP protocol.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting at least one network flow reset signal, by the second network entity, directed to the first network entity via the at least one other network flow of the at least two different network flows responsive to the respective acknowledgement received at first.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting at least one further second request, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via the at least one other network flow responsive to a reception of the at least one network flow reset signal, by the first network entity.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting the at least one further second request comprising information (MP_JOIN, Token_KeyB, Random_A) indicating the at least one other network flow to be configured as at least one secondary network flow.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

starting a timer, by the first network entity, responsive to transmitting the first request; and

transmitting the at least one second request, by the first network entity, responsive to an expiration of the timer.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising:

transmitting at least one acknowledgement, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via the at least one second network flow responsive to a reception of a reply to the at least one second request from the second network entity; and

configuring, by the second network entity, the at least one second network flow of the at least two different network flows via which the respective acknowledgement from the first network entity is first received by the second network entity, as primary network flow.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

transmitting a further first request, by the first network entity, directed to the second network entity via a first network flow responsive to the reception of the acknowledgement to the at least one second request from the second network entity, wherein the further first request comprises information (MP_JOIN, Token_KeyB, Random_A) indicating the first network flow to be configured as secondary network flow.

14. A first network entity for establishing a communication connection to a second network entity via at least two different network flows, the first network entity comprising:

at least one network interface configured to transmit a first request via a first network flow and at least one second request via at least one second network flow directed to the second network entity and configured to receive a reply to the first request from the second network entity; and

a processor configured to control the at least one network interface to transmit the at least one second request before receiving the reply to the first request from the second network entity and configured to establish the communication connection to the second network entity based on at least one of the first request or the at least one second request.

15. A second network entity for establishing a communication connection to a first network entity via at least two different network flows, the second network entity comprising:

at least one network interface configured to receive a first request via a first network flow and at least one second request via at least one second network flow from the first network entity and configured to transmit a reply to the first request and at least one reply to the at least one second request directed to the first network entity; and

a processor configured to control the at least one network interface to transmit the reply to the first request responsive to receiving the first request and to transmit the at least one reply to the at least one second request responsive to receiving the at least one second request and configured to establish the communication connection to the first network entity based on at least one of the first request or the at least one second request.