Communications system

• US 8,291,116 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2009
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Read, Stephen Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOODCHILD, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US12/348,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20090116487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2517 using port numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2535 Multiple local networks, e.g. resolving potential IP address conflicts
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2564 for a higher-layer protocol, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method of performing a multimedia communication session over a communication link using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and over a communication link using User Datagram Protocol (UDP), including the acts of: receiving a request, over the TCP link, to register from a client terminal located within a private network; a probe data packet to the client terminal, over the TCP link, requesting to send a data packet over the UDP link; and receiving a data packet from the client terminal that contains information relating to an address of the client terminal and a dynamic port over which the multimedia communication session is to be established.

Claims

1. A method of performing a multimedia communication session over a communication link using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and over a communication link using User Datagram Protocol (UDP), comprising:

receiving a request at a server, over the TCP link, to register from a client terminal located within a private network;

forwarding, at the server, a probe data packet to the client terminal, over the TCP link, requesting to send a data packet over the UDP link, the probe data packet including a unique token that allows the server to associate the data packet received from the client terminal to the UDP link, and the unique token is a unique number, not an IP address and not a port number;

receiving, at the server, the data packet from the client terminal that contains the unique token, information relating to an address of the client terminal, information relating to an address of the server, and a dynamic port over which the multimedia communication session is to be established;

utilizing, at the server, the unique token to associate the data packet received from the client terminal with the UDP link;

comparing the unique number in the data packet received from the client terminal with the unique number included in the probe data packet forwarded by the server; and

establishing the multimedia communication session over the UDP link only when the unique number received from the client terminal is equal to the unique number included in probe data packet forwarded by the server.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving additional data packets in a predetermined interval over the UDP link from the client terminal to keep alive the multimedia communication session over the UDP link.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving a plurality of data packets from a remote terminal, where destination addresses of the plurality of data packets are the client terminal; and

forwarding the plurality of data packets to the client terminal with the address and the dynamic port information of the client terminal.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

establishing the communication session over the UDP link based on a RTP/RTCP connection.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving the request and the data packet from the client terminal over a Network Address Translator.

6. A method of performing a multimedia communication session over communication links using at least one of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), comprising:

receiving a request at a server, over a first communication link, to register from a client terminal located within a private network;

forwarding, at the server, a probe data packet to the client terminal, over the first communication link, requesting to send a data packet over a second communication link, the probe data packet including a unique token that allows the server to associate the data packet received from the client terminal to the second communication link, and the unique token is a unique number, not an IP address and not a port number;

receiving, at the server, the data packet over the second communication link from the client terminal that contains the unique token, information relating to an address of the client terminal, information relating to an address of the server, and a dynamic port over which a multimedia communication session is to be established;

utilizing, at the server, the unique token to associate the data packet received from the client terminal with the second communication link;

comparing the unique number in the data packet received from the client terminal with the unique number included in the probe data packet forwarded by the server; and

establishing the multimedia communication session over the second communication link only when the unique number received from the client terminal is equal to the unique number included in probe data packet forwarded by the server.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

establishing the second communication link using UDP.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

establishing the communication session based on a RTP/RTCP connection.

12. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

establishing the first communication link before the second communication link.

13. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

establishing the first communication link using TCP.

14. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

establishing the first communication link using UDP.

15. The method of claim 6, comprising:

receiving additional data packets in a predetermined interval over the second communication link from the client terminal to keep alive the multimedia communication session over the second communication link.

16. The method of claim 6, comprising:

receiving a plurality of data packets from a remote terminal, where destination addresses of the plurality of data packets are the client terminal; and

forwarding the plurality of data packets to the client terminal with the address and the dynamic port information of the client terminal.

17. The method of claim 6, comprising:

receiving the request and the data packet from the client terminal over a Network Address Translator.

7. The method of 6, comprising:

forwarding an additional probe data packet to the client terminal, over an existing communication link, requesting to send another data packet over at least one subsequent communication link; and

receiving the another data packet over the at least one subsequent communication link from the client terminal that contains information relating to the address of the client terminal and a dynamic port over which an additional multimedia communication session is to be established.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

establishing the at least one subsequent communication link using UDP.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising:

establishing an additional communication session based on a RTP/RTCP connection.