Network communications of applications running on device utilizing different virtual network connections with different routing protocols

• US 8,341,292 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dispersive Holdings Incorporated (Dispersive Networks, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dispersive Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Twitchell, Robert W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): BIAGINI, CHRISTOPHER D
• Application Number:
  US13/241,754
• Publication Number:
  US 20120016956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 709/238
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/56 Packet switching systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/586 of virtual routers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/17 Interaction among intermediate nodes, e.g. hop by hop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/06 Message adaptation to terminal or network requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/325 in the network layer [OSI layer 3], e.g. X.25 H04L69/16 takes precedence

Abstract

A method includes detecting, at a first device, a request for a network connection from a first application; spawning a first virtual machine that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided; selecting a first routing protocol for the first virtual network connection; detecting, at the first device, a request for a network connection from a second application; spawning a second virtual machine that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a second virtual network connection is provided; selecting a second routing protocol for the second network connection; using the selected first routing protocol, communicating data from the first application to a second device using the first virtual network connection; and using the selected second routing protocol, communicating data from the second application using the second virtual network connection. The first and second routing protocols are different routing protocols.

Claims

1. A method of providing network communications using virtualization, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting, at a first device, a request for a network connection from a first application running on the first device;

(b) spawning, at the first device, a first virtual machine that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided to the first application, the first application running external to the first virtual machine;

(c) selecting, at the first device, a first routing protocol for the first virtual network connection from among a plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data using the first virtual network connection;

(d) detecting, at the first device, a request for a network connection from a second application running on the first device;

(e) spawning, at the first device, a second virtual machine that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a second virtual network connection is provided to the second application, the second application running external to the second virtual machine;

(f) selecting, at the first device, a second routing protocol for the second network connection from among the plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data using the second virtual network connection;

(g) using the selected first routing protocol of said step (c), communicating data from the first application in a plurality of packets to a destination device, the method involving, for each packet,

(i) transmitting, from the first device using the first virtual network connection and the selected first routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device,

(ii) receiving, at a third virtual machine that runs on a second device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a third virtual network connection is provided, the packet,

(iii) transmitting, from the second device using the third virtual network connection and the selected first routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device, and

(iv) receiving, at a fourth virtual machine that runs on the destination device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the destination device, the packet; and

(h) using the selected second routing protocol of said step (f), communicating data from the second application in a plurality of packets to a destination device, the method involving, for each packet,

(i) transmitting, from the first device using the second virtual network connection and the selected second routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device,

(ii) receiving, at a fifth virtual machine that runs on a third device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the third device such that a fifth virtual network connection is provided, the packet,

(iii) transmitting, from the third device using the fifth virtual network connection and the selected second routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device, and

(iv) receiving, at a sixth virtual machine that runs on the destination device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the destination device, the packet;

(i) wherein the selected first routing protocol of step (c) is different from the selected second routing protocol of step (f).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (h) of communicating data from the second application comprises communicating data from the second application to the same destination device as in step (g).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (h) of communicating data from the second application using the second virtual network connection comprises communicating data from the second application to a destination device that is different from the destination device of step (g).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein performance of said steps (g) and (h) overlap.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application and the second application each runs on the device outside of the first virtual machine and outside of the second virtual machine.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine and the second virtual machine each is created by a monitor in response to a controller that is configured to intercept messages sent to a network adapter.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine and the second virtual machine each encapsulates a single hardware network interface of the device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine and the second virtual machine each encapsulates a plurality of hardware network interfaces of the device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the device includes a plurality of processing cores.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application is a video game.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is a personal computer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is a handheld mobile device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of determining application-specific information associated with the first application and determining application-specific information associated with the second application.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine is spawned before detecting the request for the network connection from the first application;

and wherein the second virtual machine is spawned before detecting the request for the network connection from the second application.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine is spawned in response to detecting the request for the network connection from the first application;

and wherein the second virtual machine is spawned in response to detecting the request for the network connection from the second application.

16. A method of providing network communications using virtualization, comprising the steps of:

(a) spawning, at a first device, a first virtual machine that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided to a first application running on the first device outside of the first virtual machine;

(b) selecting, at the first device, a first routing protocol for the first virtual network connection from among a plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data using the first virtual network connection;

(c) spawning, at the first device, a second virtual machine that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a second virtual network connection is provided to a second application running on the first device outside of the second virtual machine;

(d) selecting, at the first device, a second routing protocol for the second virtual network connection from among the plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data using the second virtual network connection; and

(e) using the selected first routing protocol of said step (b), communicating data from the first application in a plurality of packets to a destination device, the method involving, for each packet,

(i) transmitting, from the first device using the first virtual network connection and the selected first routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device,

(ii) receiving, at a third virtual machine that runs on a second device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a third virtual network connection is provided, the packet,

(iii) transmitting, from the second device using the third virtual network connection and the selected first routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device, and

(iv) receiving, at a fourth virtual machine that runs on the destination device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the destination device, the packet; and

using the selected second routing protocol of said step (d), communicating data from the second application to a device using the second virtual network in a plurality of packets to a destination device, the method involving, for each packet,

(i) transmitting, from the first device using the second virtual network connection and the selected second routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device,

(ii) receiving, at a fifth virtual machine that runs on a third device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the third device such that a fifth virtual network connection is provided, the packet,

(iii) transmitting, from the third device using the fifth virtual network connection and the selected second routing protocol, the packet for communication to the destination device, and

(iv) receiving, at a sixth virtual machine that runs on the destination device and that virtualizes network capabilities of the destination device, the packet;

(g) wherein the selected routing protocol of said step (b) is different from the selected routing protocol of said step (d); and

(h) wherein performance of said step (e) at least partially overlaps with performance of said step (f).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the data communicated from the first application in said step (e) and the data communicated from the second application in said step (f) are communicated to the same device.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the data communicated from the first application in said step (e) and the data communicated from the second application in said step (f) are communicated to different devices.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises the steps of determining application-specific information associated with the first application and determining application-specific information associated with the second application;

wherein said step (b) comprises selecting a routing protocol based on the application-specific information associated with the first application; and

wherein said step (d) comprises selecting a routing protocol based on the application-specific information associated with the second application.