System and method of conserving bandwidth in the transmission of message packets

• US 6,826,152 B1
• Filed: 09/13/2000
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stingray IP Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kroon, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Levitan, Dmitry
• Application Number:
  US09/661,405
• Time in Patent Office: 1,539 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230.1, 370/235, 370/270, 370/393, 370/401, 370/432, 370/434, 370/437, 370/473, 370/477, 370/537, 370/542
• US Class Current: 370/230.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/28 in relation to timing considerations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/50 Queue scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/564 Attaching a deadline to packets, e.g. earliest due date first
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• 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 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A system and method of increasing message throughput in a communications system utilizing priority management, conglomeration and compression, TCP retransmission filtering and pull transmission. The priority manages ranks the messages in a message queue as a function of the priority and time to live of each message. The conglomerator conglomerates messages into assemblies destined for the same destination radio. The TCP filter prevents the retransmission of successfully received messages. The messages are transmitted as a function of the availability of the destination radio to receive.

Claims

1. A method of conserving bandwidth in sending plural message packets over a radio network where each radio is defined by a unique radio network address and where each message packet is addressed to a destination station in communication with one such radio comprising the steps of:

a) determining the unique radio network address of the radio associated with the destination station for each message packet;

b) conglomerating plural message packets destined for a common radio network address into a conglomerated assembly;

c) framing the conglomerated assembly;

d) compressing the conglomerated assembly prior to transmission

e) transmitting the conglomerated assembly over the radio network to the common radio network address;

f) receiving and reformatting the conglomerated assembly into individual message packets; and

g) delivering the individual message packets to their respective destination stations

whereby plural message packets are transmitted as a conglomerated assembly rather than as individual message packets and

wherein the step of compressing includes the step of evaluating the size of the compressed assembly with the size of the uncompressed assembly.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of selecting the smaller of the compressed assembly or the uncompressed assembly for transmission.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of encrypting the conglomerated assembly prior to transmission.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of framing includes applying headers, checksums and forward error correction coding.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of reformatting includes the step of automatically detecting whether the received assembly is compressed.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the message packets are Internet protocol (IP) packets and the destination station addresses are IP addresses.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the unique radio network addresses are IP addresses.

8. In a packet switching communication network a system for conserving bandwidth in a communication network wherein message packets are transmitted to a destination station and each destination station includes at least one destination radio and where destination stations may share a common destination radio, comprising:

means for determining the unique radio network address of the destination radio associated with the destination station for each message packet;

means for conglomerating plural message packets destined for a common destination radio network address into a conglomerated assembly;

means for transmitting the conglomerated assembly over the radio network to the common radio network address; and

means for receiving and reformatting the conglomerated assembly into individual message packets for delivery to their respective destination stations

to thereby transmit plural message packets as a conglomerated assembly rather than as individual message packets,

wherein the means for conglomerating includes means for compressing the conglomerated assembly,

wherein the means for compressing includes means for comparing the size of the conglomerated assembly before and after compression, and

means for selecting the smaller of the compressed or uncompressed assembly for transmission.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the destination radio includes means to automatically determine if the received assembly is compressed.

10. A method of conserving bandwidth in sending plural message packets over a radio network where each radio is defined by a unique radio network address and where each message packet is addressed to a destination station comprising the steps of:

a) determining the unique radio network address of the radio associated with the destination station for each message packet;

b) conglomerating plural message packets destined for a common radio network address into a conglomerated assembly;

c) framing and compressing the conglomerated assembly and comparing the size of the compressed assembly with the size of the uncompressed assembly;

d) transmitting the conglomerated assembly over the radio network to the common radio network address;

e) receiving and reformatting the conglomerated assembly into individual message packets; and

f) delivering the individual message packets to their respective destination stations

whereby plural message packets are transmitted as a conglomerated assembly rather than as individual message packets.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of selecting the smaller of the compressed assembly or the uncompressed assembly for transmission.