Bidirectional communication system and method

• US 6,892,240 B1
• Filed: 09/15/2000
• Issued: 05/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nakajima, Kazuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Khanh Quang
• Application Number:
  US09/663,396
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/225, 709/227, 709/232, 709/226, 709/219, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/220, 709/228, 709/231, 709/236, 370/252, 370/401
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies

Abstract

A bidirectional communication method allowing real-time information sharing among clients on an Intranet through a server on the Internet in disclosed. After establishing two connections between the server and the client through an HTTP proxy, one of the two connections is set to a downstream connection using GET method of HTTP to allow real-time data transfer from the server to the client. Thereafter, the other of the two connections is set to an upstream connection using POST method of HTTP to allow real-time data transfer from the client to the server. After having set the upstream connection and the downstream connection, data cells are transferred between the server and the client through the upstream connection and the downstream connection.

Claims

1. A bidirectional communication method between a server and each of a plurality of clients through an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) communication gate allowing only HTTP traffic to pass through, the method comprising the steps of:

a) establishing two connections between the server and the client;

b) setting one of the two connections to an upstream connection using POST method of HTTP to allow real-time data transfer from the client to the server,

c) setting the other of the two connections to a downstream connection using GET method of HTTP lo allow real-time data transfer from the server to the client; and

d) transferring data between the server and the client through the upstream connection and the downstream connection, wherein the real-time data transfer is inhibited between the client and the server until the two connections have been completely set up;

wherein the HTTP communication gate is an HTTP proxy having a caching function;

at the client,

e) adding a temporary unique character string, which is different from previous temporary unique character strings used by the client and by other clients, to content location information of each of a POST-method HTTP header and a header of a data cell so as to avoid the caching function of the HTTP proxy; and

at the server,

f) ignoring the temporary unique character string added in the content location information received from the client.

2. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 1, wherein

the step (b) comprises the steps of:

at the client,

b.1) generating a POST-method HTTP header;

b.2) setting a content_length field of the POST-method HTTP header to a permissible maximum value; and

the step (d) comprises the step of;

at the client,

d.1) generating data cells at timing of data transfer requested by a client application;

d.2) transferring the data cells to the server through the HTTP communication gate in real time.

3. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 1, wherein

the step (c) comprises the steps of:

at the server,

c.1) generating a GET-method HTTP header;

c.2) setting a content_length field of the GET-method HTTP header to a permissible maximum value; and

the step (d) comprises the step of;

at the server,

d.3) generating at least one data cell at timing of data transfer requested by a server application;

d.4) transferring the at least one data cell to the client through the HTTP communication gate in real time.

4. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 2, wherein

the step (c) comprises the steps of:

at the server,

b.1) generating a GET-method HTTP header;

b.2) setting a content_length field of the GET-method HTTP header to a permissible maximum value; and

the step (d) comprises the step of;

at the server,

d.3) generating at least one data cell at timing of data transfer requested by a server application;

d.4) transferring the at least one data cell to the client through the HTTP communication gate in real time.

6. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

at the client,

generating a POST-method HTTP header including a unique keyword; and

at the server,

managing the upstream and downstream connections using the unique keyword received from the client.

7. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 6, wherein, when a connection formed using a unique keyword is disconnected, the client makes reconnection to the server using the unique keyword previously used.

12. The bidirectional communication system according to claim 1, wherein the step b) is initiated by the client outputting an upstream HTTP header having a POST indication in a Method URL field of the upstream HTTP header and with tunneling information included in another field the upstream HTTP header, and

wherein the step c) is initiated by the client outputting an upstream HTTP header having a GET indication in the Method URL field of the upstream HTTP header and with the tunneling information included in another field of the upstream HTTP header.

13. The bidirectional communication system according to claim 12, wherein real-time transfer of data between the server and client is performed by way of cells that have a same information in the Method URL field as one of the upstream HTTP header and the downstream HTTP header in a header portion of the respective cells for performing the real-time transfer of data, but which do not have the tunneling information included in the header portion of the respective cells.

5. A bidirectional communication method between a server on the Internet and each of a plurality of clients on an Intranet through an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) communication gate allowing only HTTP traffic to pass through, the method comprising the steps of:

a) establishing two connections between the server and the client;

b) setting one of the two connections to a downstream connection using GET method of HTTP to allow real-time data transfer from the server to the client;

c) after having set connection, setting the other of the two connections to an upstream connection the one of the two connections to the downstream using POST method of HTTP to allow real-time data transfer from the client to the server;

d) after having set the upstream and downstream connections, transferring data between the server and the client through the upstream connection and the downstream connection;

at the client,

e) sending a tunneling GET header to the server through the one of the two connections, the tunneling GET header being included in a particular cell and being distinguished from other data cells by having a particular field of a header portion of the particular cell set lo a predetermined value that is not included in the other data sells; and

f) sending a tunneling POST header to the server through the other of the two connections independently of sending the tunneling GET header;

at the server,

g) when receiving the tunneling POST header before the tunneling GET header, stopping data reception from the client until the downstream connection has been set;

wherein the HTTP communication gate is an HTTP proxy having a caching function;

at the client,

h) adding a temporary unique character string, which is different from previous temporary unique character strings used by the client and by other clients, to content location information of each of a POST-method HTTP header and a header of a data cell so as to avoid the caching function of the HTTP proxy; and

at the server,

i) ignoring the temporary unique character string added in the content location information received from the client.

8. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

at the client,

generating a POST-method HTTP header including a unique keyword; and

at the server,

managing the upstream and downstream connections using the unique keyword received from the client.

9. The bidirectional communication method according to claim 8, wherein, when a connection formed using a unique keyword is disconnected, the client makes reconnection to the server using the unique keyword previously used.

10. A bidirectional communication system comprising:

a server on the Internet;

a plurality of clients on an Intranet; and

an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) communication gate allowing only HTTP traffic to pass through so as to connect the server and each of the plurality of clients,

wherein

each of the clients comprises;

a connection controller for establishing two connections between the server and the client;

a tunneling header generator for generating a tunneling header so that one of the two connections is set to an upstream connection using POST method of HTTP and the other of the two connections is set to a downstream connection using GET method of HTTP;

a first protocol converter for converting client application data into a data block to be transferred to the server; and

a first reverse protocol converter for converting a received data block from the server into server application data, and

the server comprises;

a tunneling header analyzer for analyzing the tunneling header received from the client to determine whether the upstream and downstream connections have been set, wherein data transfer between the client and the server is inhibited until the tunneling header analyzer determines that both the upstream and downstream connections have been set;

a second protocol converter for converting server application data into a data block to be transferred to the client; and

a second reverse protocol converter for converting a received data block from the client into client application data;

wherein the HTTP communication gate is an HTTP proxy having a caching function;

wherein the tunneling header generator of the client adds a temporary unique character string, which is different from previous temporary unique character strings used by the client an-d by other clients, to content location information of each of a POST method HTTP header and a header of a data block so as lo avoid the caching function of the HTTP proxy.

11. The bidirectional communication system according to claim 10, wherein the server further comprises:

an inflow suppressor for suppressing data block inflow from the client when receiving a tunneling POST header before a tunneling GET header and releasing inhibition of the data block inflow when the tunneling GET header has been received.

14. The bidirectional communication system according to claim 11, wherein the server further comprises:

a buffer for holding incoming data for a period of time when the incoming data blow inflow is operational,

wherein the incoming data held in the buffer is released to a processor of the server upon releasing inhibition of the incoming data block inflow.