Method of transmitting data and network

• US 8,032,141 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2006
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alcatel Lecent
• Inventors: Rouffet, Denis, Faye, Jean-Claude, Capdevielle, Veronique
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly; Nghi H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DEAN, JR, JOSEPH E
• Application Number:
  US11/565,828
• Publication Number:
  US 20070130348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426.1, 455/432.1, 455/433, 455/439
• US Class Current: 455/439
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/02 Buffering or recovering information during reselection ; Modification of the traffic flow during hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

A method of transmitting data between a content server (11) and a terminal (17) belonging to a discontinuous coverage network, the terminal (17) moving from a first radio coverage area (14, 161) to a second radio coverage area (14, 162) over an area (14a) comprising no radio coverage. The method includes: terminating (100) one or more protocols used by the content server (11) for the data transmission with the terminal (17) within a proxy, wherein the proxy is seen as the entry point of the discontinuous coverage network by the content server (11), and using a caching mechanism provided within the discontinuous coverage network for forwarding (200) data from the proxy to the terminal (17).

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data between a content server and a terminal belonging to a discontinuous coverage network, said terminal moving from a first radio coverage area to a second radio coverage area over an area comprising no radio coverage, said method including:

terminating one or more protocols used by said content server for the data transmission with the terminal within a proxy, wherein said proxy is seen as the entry point of the discontinuous coverage network by said content server;

using a caching mechanism provided within said discontinuous coverage network for forwarding data from said proxy to said terminal via a radio access point of the radio coverage area the terminal is expected to visit in the future;

partitioning data which is to be forwarded from said proxy to said terminal into cache units;

storing said cache units within an access controller and/or a radio access point of said discontinuous coverage network, wherein said cache units are stored when the terminal moves over the area comprising no radio coverage.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein directly forwarding said data from said proxy to said terminal if said terminal is currently within a radio coverage area.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein forwarding said data from said proxy to a radio access point of the radio coverage area the terminal presently resides in.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising simulating a standard delivery of data to the terminal to said content server.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said terminal performs a request to said access controller and/or said radio access point in order to determine whether cache units are available for said terminal.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said terminal comprises a local cache memory and wherein said terminal fills said cache memory with data prior to leaving a radio coverage area said terminal presently resides in.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

using a home agent operatively connected to the content server to provide a unique IP address for the terminal, wherein the home agent contains a table with the location and local IP address of the terminal,

using a foreign agent to send updated information about the location and the local IP address of the terminal to the home agent, and

translating between the unique IP address of the home agent and the local IP address of the terminal.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the home agent and/or the foreign agent are operatively associated with an access controller.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the cache units are numbered cache units.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein said cache units are stored when the terminal moves over the area comprising no radio coverage.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said terminal performs a request to said access controller and/or said radio access point in order to determine whether cache units are available for said terminal after entering the second radio coverage area.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminating comprises timely supplying the content server with messages that are necessary to maintain the data transmission with the content server independent of the state and/or availability of the terminal.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the content server remains at a fixed location as the terminal moves from the first radio coverage area to the second radio coverage area.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more protocols includes a real time streaming protocol.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the terminating includes periodically returning real time transport protocol control protocol receiver report messages to the content server independent of the state and/or availability of the terminal.

16. A discontinuous coverage network comprising:

one or more radio coverage areas and being capable of transmitting data received from a content server to a terminal that moves between and/or resides in said radio coverage areas, a network element having proxy functionality for terminating one or more protocols used by said content server for the data transmission with the terminal, the network configured to forward data from said proxy network element to said terminal via a radio access point of the radio coverage area the terminal is expected to visit in the future; and

a caching mechanism for forwarding data from said proxy network element to said terminal via a radio access point of the radio coverage area the terminal is expected to visit in the future;

said network element partitioning data which is to be forwarded from said proxy to said terminal into cache units, and storing said cash units within an access controller or within said radio access point when the terminal moves over the area comprising no radio coverage.

17. The network according to claim 16 wherein the terminal includes a local cache memory, the caching mechanism contains the data partitioned into cache units, and the terminal is operative to fill the local cache memory with data prior to leaving the one or more radio coverage areas.

18. The network according to claim 16, wherein the network element predicts the radio access point of the radio coverage area the terminal is expected to visit in the future.

19. A method of transmitting data between a content server and a terminal belonging to a discontinuous coverage network, said terminal moving from a first radio coverage area to a second radio coverage area over an area comprising no radio coverage, said method including:

terminating one or more protocols used by said content server for the data transmission with the terminal within a proxy, wherein said proxy is seen as the entry point of the discontinuous coverage network by said content server,

using a caching mechanism provided within said discontinuous coverage network for forwarding data from said proxy to said terminal,

partitioning data which is to be forwarded from said proxy to said terminal into cache units, and

storing said cache units within an access controller and/or a radio access point of said discontinuous coverage network when the terminal moves over the area comprising no radio coverage, wherein said terminal performs a request to said access controller and/or said radio access point in order to determine whether cache units are available for said terminal after entering the second radio coverage area.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising forwarding said data from said proxy to a radio access point of the radio coverage area the terminal is expected to visit in future.