IP server facilitating network communications between devices utilizing virtual network connections

• US 8,429,293 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): BIAGINI, CHRISTOPHER D
• Application Number:
  US13/242,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20120023244A1
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 709/228, 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, first, communicating by first and second devices, to a server, network contact information; and thereafter, communicating data from the first device to the second device by communicating, by the first device, a request to the server to engage in communications with the second device, communicating, by the server, the request received from the first device, communicating, by the second device, acceptance to the server of the request to engage in communications with the first device, communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second devices, using virtualized network capabilities of a virtual machine of the first device, establishing a network connection with the second device using the connection information, and communicating data, from the first device using the virtualized network capabilities of the virtual machine, to the second device.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating network communications, comprising the steps of:

(a) first,

(i) communicating by a first end-user device, to a server, network contact information of the first end-user device, and

(ii) communicating by a second end-user device, to the server, network contact information of the second end-user device; and

(b) thereafter, communicating data from an application running on the first end-user device to the second end-user device by,

(i) communicating, by the first end-user device, a request to the server to engage in communications with the second end-user device,

(ii) communicating, by the server, the request received from the first end-user device,

(iii) communicating, by the second end-user device, acceptance to the server of the request to engage in communications with the first end-user device,

(iv) communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second end-user devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second end-user devices,

(v) spawning, at the first end-user device, a first virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided to the application, the application running external to the first virtual machine,

(vi) spawning, at the second end-user device, a second virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a second virtual network connection is provided,

(vii) spawning, at a third end-user device, a third virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the third device such that a third virtual network connection is provided,

(viii) establishing a network connection between the first device, via the first virtual network connection, and the second device, via the second virtual network connection, over a network path using the connection information, the network path including the third device,

(ix) transmitting a packet from the first device using the first virtual network connection for communication via the network path,

(x) receiving, at the third device using the third virtual network connection, the packet, and communicating the packet onward along the network path, and

(xi) receiving, at the second device using the second virtual network connection, the packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second end-user devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second end-user devices comprises communicating an IP address of the second end-user device to the first end-user device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second end-user devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second end-user devices comprises communicating an IP address of the first end-user device to the second end-user device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second end-user devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second end-user devices comprises communicating connection information to both the first and second end-user devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of establishing a network connection with the second end-user device using the connection information comprises selecting a routing protocol from among a plurality of available routing protocols for communicating data using virtualized network capabilities of the first end-user device, and wherein said step of communicating data, from the first end-user device using the virtualized network capabilities of the virtual machine, to the second end-user device comprises communicating data using the selected routing protocol.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of available routing protocols includes the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), the Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and the Constrained Shortest Path First (CSPF) protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of establishing a network connection with the second end-user device using the connection information comprises selecting an initial node in a network path from the first end-user device to the second end-user device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of selecting an initial node comprises selecting an initial node based at least partially on network information stored at the first end-user device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further includes a step of querying one or more nodes of a network for the network information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further includes receiving the network information from the one or more nodes and generating a routing table based on the network information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine is spawned in response to a request for a network connection from an application running on the first end-user device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first end-user device comprises a computer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first end-user device comprises a mobile phone.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second end-user devices are the same type of device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second end-user devices are different types of devices.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the application is a computer game.

17. A method of facilitating network communications, comprising the steps of:

(a) first,

(i) communicating by a first end-user device, to a server, network contact information of the first end-user device, and

(ii) communicating by a second end-user device, to the server, network contact information of the second end-user device; and

(b) thereafter, communicating data from an application running on the first end-user device to the second end-user device by,

(i) determining, at the first end-user device, that an application running on the first end-user device desires to engage in communications with the second end-user device,

(ii) communicating, by the first end-user device, a request to the server to engage in communications with the second end-user device,

(iii) communicating, by the server, the request received from the first end-user device,

(iv) communicating, by the second end-user device, acceptance to the server of the request to engage in communications with the first end-user device,

(v) communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second end-user devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second end-user devices,

(vi) spawning, at the first end-user device, a first virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided to the application, the application running external to the first virtual machine,

(vii) spawning, at the second end-user device, a second virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a second virtual network connection is provided,

(viii) spawning, at a third end-user device, a third virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the third device such that a third virtual network connection is provided,

(ix) querying an application interface to determine application-specific connection criteria associated with the application,

(x) using the application-specific connection criteria, establishing a network connection between the first device, via the first virtual network connection, and the second device, via the second virtual network connection, over a network path using the connection information, the network path including the third device,

(xi) transmitting a packet from the first device using the first virtual network connection for communication via the network path,

(xii) receiving, at the third device using the third virtual network connection, the packet, and communicating the packet onward along the network path, and

(xiii) receiving, at the second device using the second virtual network connection, the packet;

(c) wherein the application runs outside of the first virtual machine.

18. A method of facilitating network communications, comprising the steps of:

(a) first,

(i) communicating by a first end-user device, to a server, network contact information of the first end-user device, and

(ii) communicating by a second end-user device, to the server, network contact information of the second end-user device; and

(b) thereafter, communicating data from an application running on the first end-user device to the second end-user device by,

(i) communicating, by the first end-user device, a request to the server to engage in communications with the second end-user device,

(ii) communicating, by the server, the request received from the first end-user device,

(iii) communicating, by the second end-user device, acceptance to the server of the request to engage in communications with the first end-user device,

(iv) communicating connection information, by the server, to one or more of the first and second end-user devices for enabling an open network connection between the first and second end-user devices,

(v) spawning, at the first end-user device, a first virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a first virtual network connection is provided to the application, the application running external to the first virtual machine,

(vi) spawning, at the second end-user device, a second virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a second virtual network connection is provided,

(vii) spawning, at a third end-user device, a third virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the third device such that a third virtual network connection is provided,

(viii) establishing a first network connection between the first device, via the first virtual network connection, and the second device, via the second virtual network connection, over a first network path using the connection information, the first network path including the third device, and

(ix) transmitting a first packet from the first device using the first virtual network connection for communication via the first network path,

(x) receiving, at the third device using the third virtual network connection, the first packet, and communicating the first packet onward along the first network path,

(xi) receiving, at the second device using the second virtual network connection, the first packet,

(xii) spawning, at the first end-user device, a fourth virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the first device such that a fourth virtual network connection is provided,

(xiii) spawning, at the second end-user device, a fifth virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the second device such that a fifth virtual network connection is provided,

(xiv) spawning, at a fourth end-user device, a sixth virtual machine for a network connection that virtualizes network capabilities of the fourth device such that a sixth virtual network connection is provided,

(xv) establishing a second network connection between the first device, via the fourth virtual network connection, and the second device, via the fifth virtual network connection, over a second network path using the connection information, the second network path including the fourth device,

(xvi) transmitting a second packet from the first device using the fourth virtual network connection for communication via the second network path,

(xvii) receiving, at the fourth device using the sixth virtual network connection, the second packet, and communicating the second packet onward along the second network path, and

(xviii) receiving, at the second device using the fifth virtual network connection, the second packet;

(c) wherein the third device is different from the fourth device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first packet contains a different payload than the second packet.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the second packet contains the same payload as the first packet.