Peer-to-peer communication traversing symmetric network address translators

• US 8,224,985 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2005
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takeda, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Haresh N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Chau
• Application Number:
  US11/243,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20070076729A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,478 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/223, 709/236, 709/237, 709/230
• US Class Current: 709/237
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2564 for a higher-layer protocol, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2589 over a relay server, e.g. traversal using relay for network address translation [TURN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods for peer-to-peer communication over a network between a first node behind a first network address translator (NAT) and a second node behind a second NAT, despite the first NAT and the second NAT intervening between the first and second nodes. The first NAT is a Symmetric NAT. A port prediction is performed wherein the first node constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the first NAT. A message containing the list of predicted transport addresses is sent from the first node to the second node. A connectivity check is performed with the second node using the predicted transport addresses.

Claims

1. A method for peer-to-peer connection over a network between a first node behind a first network address translator (NAT) and a second node behind a second NAT, despite the first NAT and the second NAT intervening between the first and second nodes, wherein the first NAT is a Symmetric NAT, the method comprising the steps of:

performing a port prediction on the first NAT with the first node wherein the first node uses a port allocation rule discovery process to determine port allocation characteristics of the first NAT and constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the first NAT according to the determined port allocation characteristics;

sending an INVITE message containing the list of predicted transport addresses from the first node to the second node, wherein the INVITE message does not contain a NAT type or NAT behavior information for the first NAT; and

performing a connectivity check using the predicted transport addresses by sending one or more STUN packets from the first node to one or more transport addresses provided by the second node in a provisional response to the INVITE message and receiving a STUN packet response from the second node at the first node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the second NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the first node reached the second node.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second NAT is not a Symmetric NAT.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second NAT is a Symmetric NAT.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of performing a port prediction wherein the second node constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the second NAT.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a NAT discovery before performing the port prediction, wherein during the NAT discovery the first node determines a type of the first NAT and the second node determines a type of the second NAT.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein performing NAT discovery includes the use of a STUN server.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein performing the connectivity check includes receiving STUN packets from the second node at the one or more transport addresses provided by the first node in the INVITE message.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein performing the connectivity check further includes sending a STUN packet response from the first node to the second node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the first NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the second node reached the first node.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second nodes participate in an online game.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of exchanging data between the first and second nodes over one or more connection paths established by the connectivity check.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein exchanging the data is part of an online game.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein exchanging the data is part of an online chat session.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the data is audio-visual (A/V) data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the port prediction includes the use of an Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) methodology to construct the list of predicted transport addresses.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the first node sends the INVITE message to the second node via a proxy server on a pubic network.

16. A first node operable for peer-to-peer connection over a network from behind a first network address translator (NAT) with a second node behind a second NAT, wherein the first NAT is a Symmetric NAT, wherein the first node includes a general purpose computer programmed with instructions for performing peer-to-peer communication over a network, the instructions including:

an instruction for performing a port prediction on the first NAT with the first node wherein the first node uses a port allocation rule discovery process to determine port allocation characteristics of the first NAT and constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the first NAT according to the determined port allocation characteristics;

an instruction for sending an INVITE message with the list of predicted transport addresses to the second node, wherein the INVITE message does not contain a NAT type or NAT behavior information for the first NAT; and

an instruction for checking for connectivity with the second node by sending one or more STUN packets from the first node to one or more transport addresses provided by the second node in a provisional response to the INVITE message and receiving a STUN packet response from the second node at the first node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the second NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the first node reached the second node.

17. The first node of claim 16 wherein the first node is configured to send one or more STUN packets from the first node to one or more transport addresses provided by the second node in a provisional response to the INVITE message.

18. The first node of claim 16 wherein the first node is an online gaming module.

19. The first node of claim 16 wherein the first node is an A/V chat device, IP video camera, multimedia streaming device, or file sharing node.

20. The first node of claim 16 wherein the first node is a server host.

21. The first node of claim 16 wherein the first node is configured to send and receive signals to another peer via a proxy server on a pubic network prior to a peer-to-peer direct connection establishment with the second node.

22. A system for peer-to-peer connection, comprising

a first node behind a first network address translator (NAT);

a second node behind a second NAT, wherein the first and second nodes respectively include first and second general purpose computers programmed with instructions for performing peer-to-peer communication over a network, the instructions including;

an instruction for performing a port prediction on the first NAT with the first node wherein the first node uses a port allocation rule discovery process to determine port allocation characteristics of the first NAT and constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the first NAT according to the determined port allocation characteristics;

an instruction for sending an INVITE message with the list of predicted transport addresses from the first node to the second node, wherein the INVITE message does not contain a NAT type or NAT behavior information for the first NAT; and

an instruction for performing a connectivity check with the second node using the predicted transport addresses by sending one or more STUN packets from the first node to one or more transport addresses provided by the second node in a provisional response to the INVITE message and receiving a STUN packet response from the second node at the first node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the second NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the first node reached the second node.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the instructions further include an instruction for performing a connectivity check with the first node.

24. The system of claim 22 wherein the instruction for performing port prediction does not configure external port mapping of the first NAT.

25. A method for peer-to-peer connection over a network between a first node behind a first network address translator (NAT) and a second node behind a second NAT, despite the first NAT and the second NAT intervening between the first and second nodes, wherein the first NAT is a Symmetric NAT, the method comprising the steps of:

performing a port prediction on the first NAT with the first node wherein the first node uses a port allocation rule discovery process to determine port allocation characteristics of the first NAT and constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the first NAT according to the determined port allocation characteristics;

sending an INVITE message containing the list of predicted transport addresses from the first node to the second node, wherein the INVITE message does not contain a NAT type or NAT behavior information for the first NAT; and

performing a connectivity check using the predicted transport addresses by receiving STUN packets from the second node at the one or more transport addresses provided by the first node in the INVITE message and sending a STUN packet response from the first node to the second node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the first NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the second node reached the first node.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the second NAT is not a Symmetric NAT.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the second NAT is a Symmetric NAT.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of performing a port prediction wherein the second node constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the second NAT.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising performing a NAT discovery before performing the port prediction, wherein during the NAT discovery the first node determines a type of the first NAT and the second node determines a type of the second NAT.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein performing NAT discovery includes the use of a STUN server.

31. The method of claim 25 wherein performing the connectivity check includes receiving STUN packets from the second node at the one or more transport addresses provided by the first node in the INVITE message.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein performing the connectivity check further includes sending a STUN packet response from the first node to the second node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the first NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the second node reached the first node.

33. The method of claim 25 wherein the first and second nodes participate in an online game.

34. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of exchanging data between the first and second nodes over one or more connection paths established by the connectivity check.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein exchanging the data is part of an online game.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein exchanging the data is part of an online chat session.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein the data is audio-visual (A/V) data.

38. The method of claim 25, wherein performing the port prediction includes the use of an Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) methodology to construct the list of predicted transport addresses.

39. The method of claim 25 wherein the first node sends the INVITE message to the second node via a proxy server on a public network.

40. A first node operable for peer-to-peer connection over a network from behind a first network address translator (NAT) with a second node behind a second NAT, wherein the first NAT is a Symmetric NAT, wherein the first node includes a general purpose computer programmed with instructions for performing peer-to-peer communication over a network, the instructions including:

an instruction for performing a port prediction on the first NAT with the first node wherein the first node uses a port allocation rule discovery process to determine port allocation characteristics of the first NAT and constructs a list of predicted transport addresses on the first NAT according to the determined port allocation characteristics;

an instruction for sending an INVITE message with the list of predicted transport addresses to the second node, wherein the INVITE message does not contain a NAT type or NAT behavior information for the first NAT; and

an instruction for checking for connectivity with the second node by receiving STUN packets from the second node at the one or more transport addresses provided by the first node in the INVITE message and sending a STUN packet response from the first node to the second node, wherein the STUN packet response includes a transport address of an external port on the first NAT through which one of the STUN packets sent from the second node reached the first node.