Apparatus and method for hybrid network access

• US 6,671,741 B1
• Filed: 11/28/2000
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Dillon, Douglas M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US09/722,488
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 709/250, 709/249, 709/245, 709/243, 709/219, 709/217, 709/246, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/250
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18582 Arrangements for data linking, i.e. for data framing, for error recovery, for multiple access
• 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: H04B 7/18591 Arrangements for interconnecting multiple systems data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• 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 47/745 Reaction in network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/803 Application aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/825 Involving tunnels, e.g. MPLS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/829 Topology based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 : specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

A system in which a personal computer sends messages into a TCP/IP network using a conventional dial-up link and downloads data from the TCP/IP network using a high-speed one-way satellite link. A preferred embodiment uses a conventional SLIP provider to connect to the TCP/IP network and uses a commercial software TCP/IP package that has a standard driver interface. A spoofing protocol compensates for the long propagation delays inherent to satellite communication.

Claims

1. A peripheral for coupling a satellite antenna device and a computing device, wherein said peripheral is configured to interface to a TCP/IP stack of the computing device using ethernet protocol,

wherein said peripheral generates an ARP response to an ARP request generated by the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

2. A peripheral according to claim 1, wherein packets received from the satellite antenna device are scanned so that only packets matching a predetermined IP address are forwarded to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

3. A peripheral for connecting a satellite antenna device and a computing device, wherein said peripheral is configured to interface to a TCP/IP stack of the computing device using a network driver interface specification,

wherein said peripheral generates an ARP response to an ARP request generated by the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

4. A peripheral according to claim 3, wherein said peripheral is an adapter card.

5. A peripheral according to claim 3, wherein packets received from the satellite antenna device are scanned so that only packets matching a predetermined IP address are forwarded to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

6. An interface between a wireless communication unit and a computing device, wherein the wireless communication unit is presented to a TCP/IP stack of the computing device so as to appear to be a LAN device,

wherein said interface generates an ARP response to an ARP request generated by the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

7. An interface between a wireless communication unit and a computing device, wherein the wireless communication unit is presented to a TCP/IP stack of the computing device so as to appear to be an ethernet device,

wherein said interface generates an ARP response to an ARP request generated by the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

8. An interface according to claim 7, wherein the wireless communication unit is a satellite antenna device.

9. An interface according to claim 8, wherein packets received from the satellite antenna device are scanned so that only packets matching a predetermined IP address are forwarded to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

10. An interface according to claim 7, wherein the computing device is a personal computer.

11. An interface between a wireless communication unit and a computing device,

wherein the wireless communication unit is presented to a TCP/IP stack of the computing device so as to appear to be any of:

(a) a network interface card;

(b) a Crynson-Clark Packet Driver Specification device; and

(c) a 3Com/Microsoft Network Driver Interface Specification device, and

wherein said interface generates an ARP response to an ARP request generated by the TCP/IP stack of the computing device.

12. An interface according to claim 11, wherein the wireless communication unit is presented to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device so as to appear to be a network interface card.

13. An interface according to claim 11, wherein the wireless communication unit is presented to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device so as to appear to be a Crynson-Clark Packet Driver Specification device.

14. An interface according to claim 11, wherein the wireless communication unit is presented to the TCP/IP stack of the computing device so as to appear to be a 3Com/Microsoft Network Driver Interface Specification device.

15. A system comprising:

a device configured to interface a satellite antenna unit with a computer; and

computer-processable code for execution on the computer,

wherein said device and said computer-processable code are configured such that said device appears to a TCP/IP stack of the computer to be an ethernet device and such that an ARP response is generated in response to an ARP request generated by the TCP/IP stack of the computer.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein said device is an adapter card.

17. A system comprising:

a device configured to interface a satellite antenna unit with a computer; and

computer-processable code for execution on the computer,

wherein said device and said computer-processable code are configured such that (a) a TCP/IP packet generated by a TCP/IP stack of the computer is encapsulated in an ethernet packet which is stripped off before the packet is sent to the internet, (b) a TCP/IP packet received through the satellite antenna unit from the internet is scanned to determine if the destination IP address matches a predetermined IP address, and if a match is found then the TCP/IP packet is encapsulated in an ethernet packet and passed to the TCP/IP stack of the computer.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein said device is an adapter card.

19. A system according to claim 17, wherein the TCP/IP stack of the computer is configured to set the maximum transmission unit to be as large as possible.

20. A system according to claim 17, wherein in response to generation of an ARP packet by the TCP/IP stack of the computer, a physical address is generated by said computer-processable code and sent in a reply packet to the TCP/IP stack.