Method of bandwidth control by rewriting ACK number

• US 7,676,593 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Mochida, Kei, Homma, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, WEN TAI
• Application Number:
  US11/692,281
• Publication Number:
  US 20070239889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/234
• 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

Abstract

A network relay apparatus installed with a TCP shaper has a packet converter that changes an ACK number of a confirmation reply packet in response to downstream data transmitted from a WAN side host to a lower value while transferring the packet.

Claims

1. A network relay apparatus connecting a server terminal and a client terminal, the network relay apparatus comprising:

a transmitter that transmits first and second downstream packets received from the server terminal to the client terminal and transmits first and second upstream packets received from the client terminal to the server terminal, the second downstream packet being received after the first downstream packet, the second upstream packet being received after the first upstream packet, the first and second upstream packets respectively comprising first and second acknowledgement information according to the first and second downstream packets;

a memory that stores the first acknowledgement information; and

a data modifier that modifies the second upstream packet to change the second acknowledgement information into the first acknowledgement information stored in the memory,

wherein said transmitter transmits the second upstream packet modified by the data modifier to the server terminal after the first acknowledgment information was transmitted to the server terminal along with the first upstream packet, and

wherein each of the first and second downstream packets received by the network relay apparatus contains a non-zero payload.

2. The network relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second acknowledgement information respectively indicates that the client terminal received the corresponding first and second downstream packets.

3. The network relay apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first and second downstream packets respectively comprise substantial data and identification information of the substantial data, and the first and second acknowledgement information is determined according to the respective identification information.

4. The network relay apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first downstream packet is followed by at least one additional downstream packet, and the first upstream packet is followed by at least one additional upstream packet, respectively corresponding to the at least one additional downstream packet and respectively including at least one acknowledgment information,

the memory further stores the at least one acknowledgement information, and

the data modifier changes the second acknowledgement information in the second upstream packet into the oldest acknowledgement information in the first acknowledgement information and the at least one acknowledgement information stored in said memory.

5. A network relay apparatus connecting a server terminal and a client terminal, the network relay apparatus comprising:

a transmitter that transmits first and second downstream packets received from the server terminal to the client terminal and transmits first and second upstream acknowledgement data, respectively corresponding to the first and second downstream packets, received from the client terminal to the server terminal, the second downstream packet being received after the first downstream packet is received, the second upstream acknowledgement data being received after the first upstream acknowledgement data is received, the first and second upstream acknowledgement data respectively comprising a first acknowledgement number and a second acknowledgement number;

a memory that stores the first acknowledgement number; and

a data modifier that modifies the second upstream acknowledgement data to change the second acknowledgement number into the first acknowledgement number stored in the memory,

wherein said transmitter transmits the second upstream acknowledgement data modified by the data modifier to the server terminal after the first acknowledgment information was transmitted to the server terminal along with the first upstream packet, and

wherein each of the first and second downstream packets received by the network relay apparatus contains a non-zero payload.

6. The network relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first acknowledgement number and the second acknowledgement number respectively indicate that the client terminal received the first downstream packet and the second downstream packet.

7. The network relay apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first downstream packet is followed by at least one additional downstream packet, and the first upstream acknowledgement data is followed by at least one additional upstream acknowledgement data, respectively corresponding to the at least one additional downstream packets and respectively including at least one acknowledgment number,

the memory further stores the at least one acknowledgement number of the at least one additional upstream acknowledgement data,

wherein said data modifier modifies the second upstream acknowledgement data, to change the second acknowledgement number of the second upstream acknowledgement data into the oldest acknowledgement number in the first acknowledgement number and the at least one acknowledgement number stored in the memory, and said transmitter transmits the second upstream acknowledgement data modified by the data modifier to the server terminal.

8. The network relay apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first acknowledgement number is smaller than the second acknowledgement number.

10. The network relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transmitter further transfers voice communication packets between the client terminal and the server terminal when a voice communication session is performed together with a TCP session other than the voice communication session, and

the data modifier changes only the second acknowledgement number of the second upstream acknowledgment data transmitted in the TCP session.

11. The network relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data modifier changes an acknowledgement number of one of two consecutively received upstream acknowledgement data, and stops transmitting the other of two consecutively received upstream acknowledgement data to the server terminal.

12. The network relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first downstream packet is followed by at least one additional downstream packet, and the first upstream acknowledgment data is followed by at least one additional upstream acknowledgment data, respectively corresponding to the at least one additional downstream packet and respectively including at least one acknowledgment number,

the memory further stores the at least one acknowledgement number,

the data modifier changes the second acknowledgment number of the second upstream acknowledgment data received from the client terminal to the oldest acknowledgement number in the first acknowledgement number and the at least one acknowledgement number stored in the memory, when the two acknowledgment numbers of immediately prior upstream acknowledgment data transmitted from the transmitter are the same, and

the data modifier changes the second acknowledgement number of the second upstream acknowledgement data received from the client terminal to an acknowledgement number a same as the acknowledgement number of immediate prior upstream acknowledgement packet transmitted from the transmitter to the server terminal, when the two acknowledgment numbers of immediately prior upstream packets transmitted from the transmitter are different.

13. The network relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data modifier further determines whether the second upstream acknowledgement data includes TCP data, and changes the second acknowledgment number when the TCP data is included.

9. A data relaying method for transferring data between a server terminal and a client terminal, the method being implemented by a computer and comprising:

transferring first downstream packet received from the server terminal to the client terminal, the first downstream packet containing a non-zero payload;

receiving first upstream acknowledgement information from the client terminal, the first upstream acknowledgement information corresponding to the first downstream packet and comprising a first acknowledgement number;

storing the first acknowledgement number in a memory;

transferring second downstream packet received from the server terminal after the transfer of the first downstream packet to the client terminal, the second downstream packet containing a non-zero payload;

receiving a second upstream acknowledgement information from the client terminal, the second upstream acknowledgement information corresponding to the second downstream packet and comprising a second acknowledgement number that is larger than the first acknowledgement number;

modifying the second upstream acknowledgement information to rewrite the second acknowledgement number with the first acknowledgement number stored in the memory; and

transmitting the modified second upstream acknowledgement information to the server terminal after the first acknowledgment information was transmitted to the server terminal along with the first upstream packet.