Communication control method, communication control apparatus and storage medium

• US 7,003,568 B1
• Filed: 11/12/1999
• Issued: 02/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Tetsuya, Chikada, Michiyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): DINH, KHANH Q
• Application Number:
  US09/581,632
• Time in Patent Office: 2,293 Days
• Field of Search: 709/250, 709/220, 709/227, 709/228, 709/230, 709/2, 709/224, 714/4, 713/324, 370/216, 370/230, 370/60, 370/94.1, 370/1, 379/93.95
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

Even if a communication is interrupted, a communication control module in a data terminal reestablish the communication without informing a communication module that the communication has been interrupted in a case where it is possible to reestablish the communication. The communication control module determines that the communication can be reestablished if the interruption is temporary, or the condition of a network is good. The communication module does not recognize the interruption of the communication if the communication can be reestablished. Therefore, when the communication circuit is reestablished, the data communication is restored retrospectively to the time of the interruption of the communication.

Claims

1. In a data communication device comprising a communication module, a communication control method comprising the steps of:

detecting a disruption of communication while the communication is in progress by the communication module;

determining, based on a cause of the disruption, whether or not the disrupted communication is restorable;

when the disrupted communication is determined not restorable, reporting the disruption to the communication module;

if the disrupted communication is determined restorable, disguising the disruption from the communication module while monitoring if the disrupted communication becomes ready for restoration; and

reporting the disruption to the communication module if the disrupted communication does not become ready for restoration within a period of time, whereas, if the disrupted communication becomes ready for restoration within the period of time, reestablishing the disrupted communication to resume the communication without reporting the disruption to the communication module.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data communication device is selected from a group consisting of a portable computer, a server and a facsimile.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring if the disrupted communication becomes ready for restoration comprising requesting a communication adapter to diagnose a network at regular intervals and waiting for a diagnostic result from the communication adapter.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the disrupted communication is determined restorable if the disruption is caused by a traffic congestion in a network.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data communication device is communicating wirelessly with a corresponding data communication device.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the disrupted communication is determined restorable if the disruption is caused by either the data communication device or the corresponding data communication device, or both, being temporarily out of reach of a radio signal.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein disguising the disruption from the communication module comprises not reporting the disruption to the communication module as if the disruption never happened and let the communication module repeat communication operations that it was performing before the disruption.

8. In a data communication device that communicates with a corresponding data communication device over a network, a communication control module comprising:

a communication control that controls data communication with the corresponding data communication device under direction of the data communication device;

a network analyzer that detects a disruption of the data communication and determines, based on a cause of the disruption, whether or not the disrupted data communication is restorable, wherein the network analyzer reports the communication disruption to the data communication device if it determines that the disrupted data communication is not restorable;

a network monitor that monitors the network within a period of time to detect if the disrupted communication becomes ready for restoration; and

a communication disruption management that disguises the communication disruption from the data communication device while the network monitor monitors the network, wherein the communication disruption management reports the communication disruption to the data communication device if the network monitor fails to detect within the period of time that the disrupted communication becomes ready for restoration, whereas if the network monitor detects within the period of time that the disrupted communication becomes ready for restoration, the communication disruption management instructs the communication control, without reporting the disruption to the communication device, to reestablish the disrupted communication and resume the data communication.

9. A communication control module according to claim 8, wherein the data communication device is selected from a group consisting of a portable computer, a server and a facsimile.

10. A communication control module according to claim 8, wherein when monitoring the network, the network monitor causes a communication adapter to diagnose the network at regular intervals and waits for a diagnostic result from the communication adapter.

11. A communication control module according to claim 8, wherein the network analyzer determines that the disrupted communication is restorable if the disruption is caused by a traffic congestion in the network.

12. A communication control module according to claim 8, wherein the data communication device is communicating wirelessly with the corresponding data communication device.

13. A communication control module according to claim 12, wherein the network analyzer determines that the disrupted communication is restorable if the disruption is caused by either the data communication device or the corresponding data communication device, or both, being temporarily out of reach of a radio signal.

14. A communication control module according to claim 8, wherein when disguising the disruption from the data communication device, the communication disruption management does not report the disruption to the communication device as if the disruption never happened and lets the data communication device repeat communication operations that it was performing before the disruption.