Method and system for transferring data in a communications network using redundant communication paths
First Claim
1. A communication node of a communications network to reliably transfer data to a destination node comprising:
- a transmitter to transmit outgoing information to at least one other communication node within said network;
a receiver to receive incoming information from at least one other communication node within said network; and
a processor to control said transmission and reception of said outgoing and incoming information, wherein said processor includes;
a marking module to determine one or more packets for reliable transmission and insert an indicator within the determined packets to identify those packets for reliable transmission in response to said communication node being a source node, wherein a packet includes an Internet Protocol header and said marking module includes a field module to assign values to at least a portion of said packet header to identify said packet for said reliable transmission;
an agent module to perform routing functions, wherein said agent module includes;
a primary module to determine a primary routing path for an identified packet utilizing information within a routing database;
a secondary module to determine a secondary routing path for said identified packet utilizing information within said routing database, wherein said secondary path is the shortest path available including minimum overlap with said primary path; and
a transmission module, responsive to availability of said secondary routing path, to generate a duplicate of said identified packet, to remove said indicator from said identified and duplicate packets, and to transmit said identified packet and said duplicate packet over said primary and secondary paths, respectively, wherein said identified and duplicate packets are in the form of routing protocol packets, and wherein a routing option of said routing protocol is enabled to control propagation of said identified and duplicate packets through said network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communication node of the present invention automatically transmits original and duplicate packets over different paths in a communications network to improve delivery reliability of the packet and to decrease packet delivery time. A packet is typically marked for reliable transmission by the application layer of a source node, while a routing agent module within the node IP layer processes the marked packets. The marked packets are transmitted over redundant (e.g., primary and secondary) network paths from the source node to the destination node. The primary path is usually the shortest path between the source and destination nodes, while the secondary path is selected to avoid overlap with the primary path. The application or transport layer of the destination node filters or removes plural copies of received packets.
60 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A communication node of a communications network to reliably transfer data to a destination node comprising:
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a transmitter to transmit outgoing information to at least one other communication node within said network; a receiver to receive incoming information from at least one other communication node within said network; and a processor to control said transmission and reception of said outgoing and incoming information, wherein said processor includes; a marking module to determine one or more packets for reliable transmission and insert an indicator within the determined packets to identify those packets for reliable transmission in response to said communication node being a source node, wherein a packet includes an Internet Protocol header and said marking module includes a field module to assign values to at least a portion of said packet header to identify said packet for said reliable transmission; an agent module to perform routing functions, wherein said agent module includes; a primary module to determine a primary routing path for an identified packet utilizing information within a routing database; a secondary module to determine a secondary routing path for said identified packet utilizing information within said routing database, wherein said secondary path is the shortest path available including minimum overlap with said primary path; and a transmission module, responsive to availability of said secondary routing path, to generate a duplicate of said identified packet, to remove said indicator from said identified and duplicate packets, and to transmit said identified packet and said duplicate packet over said primary and secondary paths, respectively, wherein said identified and duplicate packets are in the form of routing protocol packets, and wherein a routing option of said routing protocol is enabled to control propagation of said identified and duplicate packets through said network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A communications network to reliably transfer data comprising:
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at least one source node to transmit a packet, wherein said source node includes; a marking module to determine one or more packets for reliable transmission and insert an indicator within the determined packets to identify those packets for reliable transmission, wherein a packet includes an Internet Protocol header and said marking module includes a field module to assign values to at least a portion of said packet header to identify said packet for said reliable transmission; an agent module to perform routing functions, wherein said agent module includes; a primary module to determine a primary routing path for an identified packet utilizing information within a routing database; a secondary module to determine a secondary routing path for said identified packet utilizing information within said routing database, wherein said secondary path is the shortest path available including minimum overlap with said primary path; and a transmission module, responsive to availability of said secondary routing path, to generate a duplicate of said identified packet, to remove said indicator from said identified and duplicate packets, and to transmit said identified packet and said duplicate packet over said primary and secondary paths, respectively, wherein said identified and duplicate packets are in the form of routing protocol packets, and wherein a routing option of said routing protocol is enabled to control propagation of said identified and duplicate packets through said network; at least one intermediate node between said source node and a destination, wherein each intermediate node employs said routing protocol to route said identified packet and said duplicate packet along said respective primary and secondary paths, and wherein said identified packet and said duplicate packet are processed in accordance with said routing protocol and said enabled routing option to propagate said identified packet and said duplicate packet along said respective primary and secondary paths; and at least one destination node to receive packets from said primary and secondary paths and to remove packets that are copies of received packets. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A program product apparatus including a computer readable storage medium with computer program logic recorded thereon for reliably transferring data within a network comprising:
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a marking module to determine one or more packets for reliable transmission and insert an indicator within the determined packets to identify those packets for reliable transmission, wherein a packet includes an Internet Protocol header and said marking module includes a field module to assign values to at least a portion of said packet header to identify said packet for said reliable transmission; an agent module to perform routing functions, wherein said agent module includes; a primary module to determine a primary routing path for an identified packet utilizing information within a routing database; a secondary module to determine a secondary routing path for said identified packet utilizing information within said routing database, wherein said secondary path is the shortest path available including minimum overlap with said primary path; and a transmission module, responsive to availability of said secondary routing path, to generate a duplicate of said identified packet, to remove said indicator from said identified and duplicate packets, and to facilitate transmission of said identified packet and said duplicate packet over said primary and secondary paths, respectively, wherein said identified and duplicate packets are in the form of routing protocol packets, and wherein a routing option of said routing protocol is enabled to control propagation of said identified and duplicate packets through said network. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of transmitting packets within a network from a source node through at least one intermediate node to a destination node comprising:
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(a) determining one or more packets for reliable transmission and inserting an indicator within the determined packets to identify those packets for reliable transmission at said source node, wherein a packet includes an Internet Protocol header and step (a) further includes; (a.1) assigning values to at least a portion of said packet header to identify said packet for said reliable transmission; (b) determining a primary routing path for an identified packet at said source node utilizing information within a routing database; (c) determining a secondary routing path for said identified packet at said source node utilizing information within said routing database, wherein said secondary path is the shortest path available including minimum overlap with said primary path; (d) in response to said secondary routing path being available, generating a duplicate of said identified packet at said source node, removing said indicator from said identified and duplicate packets, and transmitting said identified packet and said duplicate packet over said primary and secondary paths, respectively, wherein said identified and duplicate packets are in the form of routing protocol packets, and wherein a routing option of said routing protocol is enabled to control propagation of said identified and duplicate packets through said network; and (e) receiving packets from said primary and secondary paths and removing packets that are copies of received packets at said destination node. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification