Data relay method, its apparatus, and data relay system using the apparatus

• US 7,130,307 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2001
• Issued: 10/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Murai, Tomoki, Nakamura, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Ricky Q.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fox, Jamal A.
• Application Number:
  US10/015,658
• Publication Number:
  US 20020194367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,779 Days
• Field of Search: 370/395.5, 370466-467, 370/401, 370/352, 370/389, 370/392, 370/474, 370/400, 370/393, 370/394, 370/395.1, 370/395.31, 370/395.32, 370/469, 370/235, 370/252, 370/395.52, 370/395.53, 709/245, 709/238, 709/233, 709/213, 709/242, 709/229, 709/247, 709/230, 709/228, 709/249, 709/235, 709/217, 709/206, 709/224
• US Class Current: 370/395.5
• 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 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling

Abstract

A plurality of relay apparatuses are provided within an IP network of an ISP, and these relay apparatuses are connected to each other by logical tunnels. Each relay apparatus determines the type of a destination address at the Layer 2 level from the data loaded from a host device. When the type is for broadcast, the relay apparatus identifies a tunnel as a relay destination from the data contents set in correlation with destination addresses at the Layer 3 level, and transmits the data only to the relevant relay destination tunnel.

Claims

1. A data relay system having a logical tunnel established within a specified public network interposed between a specified backbone network and host devices, which relays data between the backbone network and the host devices through the logical tunnel, the system comprising:

a first data relaying apparatus, disposed within the specified public network, for relaying data between the backbone network and the host devices through the logical tunnel established within the public network, the data relaying apparatus comprising

a first type determination unit configured to monitor contents of the data laded from the host device and determine a type of the data;

a first relay unit configured to relay data through the tunnel when the type of the data is targeted for a single traffic; and

a first control processing unit configured to perform control processing on the data without being routed through the tunnel when the data is a predetermined control packet, wherein

when the data loaded from said host device is the predetermined control packet, the first data relaying apparatus performs control processing so as to relay the data without routing through the logical tunnel;

a second data relay apparatus, disposed within the specified public network for relaying data between the backbone network and the host devices said second data relay apparatus comprising

a second type determination unit configured to monitor contents of the data loaded from the backbone network and determine a type of the data;

a second relay unit configured to relay data through the tunnel when the type of the data is targeted for a single traffic; and

a storage control unit configured to store the data when the type of the data is targeted for broadcast to a particular group; and

a third data relay apparatus, disposed within the a specified public network, for relaying data between the backbone network and said host devices, said second data relay apparatus comprising

a third type determination unit configured to monitor contents of the data loaded from said host device and determines a type of the data;

a third relay unit configured to relay data through the tunnel when the type of the data is targeted for a single traffic; and

a second control processing unit configured to control processing on the data without being routed through the tunnel when the data is a predetermined control packet,

wherein said second control processing unit of said third data relay apparatus performs control processing so as to relay the data, as a target to be controlled stored by said storage control unit of said first data relay apparatus, to said host device that has issued a specified reception request.