Method and apparatus for data transmission control in a computer network environment

• US 6,791,940 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2000
• Issued: 09/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Rajesh, Padinjaroot Gopi
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Min
• Application Number:
  US09/649,744
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: 370/225, 370/227, 370/228, 370/400, 370/401, 370/402, 370/217, 370/218, 370/219, 370/220, 709/239
• US Class Current: 370/219
• 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 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery

Abstract

A data network may comprise routers for transmitting data between locations in the network via alternative routes. A network gateway or server may normally send data packets to a particular default router but, for network communication recovery, the gateway needs to select a new default route if the first goes down. The recovery method of this invention comprises storing information indicative of respective ones of a plurality of said alternative routes; accessing the stored information to identify a first of said routes; directing data to the router means for the data to be transmitted to the said another location via the first route; sensing failure of said transmission and, in the event of such failure, accessing said stored information to identify a second of said alternative routes; and directing data to the router means for the data to be transmitted to the said another location via the second route. Ideally, the method includes storing information indicative of the failure of any of said alternative routes and, before directing data to the router means, accessing said stored information to identify said routes in turn until one is identified that is not indicated as having failed.

Claims

1. In a computer which is connected via a router to a computer network at a first location in the network for enabling the computer to transmit data to another location in the network, a method for controlling the transmission of said data comprising:

a) storing, by the computer, a number of addresses for respective ones of a plurality of;

b) accessing the stored addresses by the computer to identify one of said routers;

c) directing data to the identified router for the data to be transmitted to the other location;

d) sensing, by the computer, failure of said transmission by the identified router;

e) setting, by the computer, a transmission-failure indication recording a transmission failure by the identified router;

f) identifying, responsive to the transmission failure, a next one of the routers, including the step of;

accessing said stored addresses;

g) checking, by the computer, whether such a transmission-failure indication has been previously set for the identified next one of the routers; and

h) directing data to the identified next one of the routers for the data to be transmitted to the other location if the checking in step g) determines that no transmission-failure indication has been set.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein step d) includes the step of determining that said data has been retransmitted a pre-set plurality of times.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein if the checking in step g) determines that a transmission-failure indication has been set for the identified next one of the routers, the method includes repeating steps f), g) and h).

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the computer is under the control of a program including an operating system and an associated data transmission protocol, data identifying a pre-set list of default routes, and a plurality of program sub-routines including sub-routines for splitting said data into packets including destination and routing headers, transmitting said data packets and retransmitting them a pre-set number of times if the transmission is not successful.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, including storage means containing a program including an operating system and an associated data transmission protocol, data identifying a pre-set list of default routes, and a plurality of program sub-routines including sub-routines for splitting said data into packets including destination and routing headers, transmitting said data packets and retransmitting them a pre-set number of times if the transmission is not successful.

6. Computer apparatus which is connected via a router to a computer network at a first location in the network for enabling the computer to transmit data to another location in the network, the apparatus comprising:

storing means for storing, by a computer, a number of addresses for respective ones of a plurality of routers;

accessing means for accessing the stored addresses by the computer to identify one of said routers;

directing means for directing data to the identified router for the data to be transmitted to the other location;

sensing means for sensing, by the computer, failure of said transmission by the identified router;

setting means for setting, by the computer, a transmission-failure indication recording a transmission failure by the identified router;

identifying means for identifying, responsive to the transmission failure, a next one of the routers, wherein the identifying means includes;

accessing means for accessing said stored addresses;

and the method includes;

checking means for checking, by the computer, whether such a transmission-failure indication has been previously set for the identified next one of the routers, wherein the directing means directs data to the identified next one of the routers for the data to be transmitted to the other location if the checking by the checking means determines that no transmission-failure indication has been set.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sensing means includes means for determining that said data has been retransmitted a pre-set plurality of times.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein if the checking means determines that a transmission-failure indication has been set for the identified next one of the routers, the identifying means, accessing means and directing means repeat their respective identifying, accessing and directing.