Fractional threshold encoding and aggregation

• US 8,442,070 B1
• Filed: 01/29/2009
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hobnob, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hobnob, Inc.
• Inventors: Go, Jared, Hall, Aron B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thier, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): MENSAH, PRINCE AKWASI
• Application Number:
  US12/362,400
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 370/237, 370/252, 370331-335, 370/341, 370/342, 370/389, 370/468, 370/476, 370/473, 370/477, 380/21, 380/25, 380/28, 380/29, 380/37, 713/153, 713/165, 713/180, 713/189, 713/193
• US Class Current: 370/473
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9057 Arrangements for supporting packet reassembly or resequencing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/085 Secret sharing or secret splitting, e.g. threshold schemes

Abstract

Fractional encoding of a packet into fractional packets and reconstruction of fractional packets into an original packet is disclosed. A packet is received. A plurality fractional packets is constructed from the received packet such that the received packet is fully reconstructable from a portion of the fractional packets. The portion is fewer than all of the fractional packets. At least one fractional packet is transmitted.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a processor configured to;

construct a plurality of fractional packets from a received packet such that the received packet is fully reconstructable from a portion of the fractional packets, wherein the portion is fewer than all of the fractional packets; and

an interface configured to;

receive link performance information, wherein the link performance information includes information obtained from drivers associated with respective first and second links, and wherein the first and second links are provided by respective first and second telecommunications carriers; and

transmit a first fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the first link and transmit a second fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the second link, wherein the first and second fractional packets are assigned to their respective links based at least in part on the link performance information.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to determine a number of fractional packets that form the plurality of fractional packets.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the processor is configured to determine the number of fractional packets that form the plurality of fractional packets based at least in part on link performance information.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the processor is configured to determine the number of fractional packets that form the plurality of fractional packets based at least in part on quality of service requirements.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the processor is configured to determine the number of fractional packets that form the plurality of fractional packets based at least in part on a fractional decision technique.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to construct the plurality of fractional packets using a cryptographic secret sharing technique.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the technique includes Shamir'"'"'s secret sharing technique.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to construct the plurality of fractional packets using a forward error correction technique.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to monitor the status of one or more links.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the fractional packets are of equal size.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the interface is configured to transmit the first fractional packet and a third fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the first available link.

12. A system for decoding a plurality of fractional packets, comprising:

a first interface configured to receive a first fractional packet from a first available link provided by a first telecommunications carrier and receive a second fractional packet from a second available link provided by a second telecommunications carrier, wherein the first and second fractional packets were assigned to their respective links based at least in part on link performance information, wherein the link performance information includes information obtained from drivers associated with the respective first and second links;

a processor configured to determine whether a threshold number of fractional packets has been received and to reconstruct from the received fractional packets an original packet; and

a second interface configured to transmit the original packet.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to store the original packet in a buffer.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the threshold number of fractional packets is received based at least in part on a packet ID.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to monitor a link quality.

16. A method for data communication, comprising:

receiving a packet;

constructing a plurality of fractional packets from the received packet such that the received packet is fully reconstructable from a portion of the fractional packets, wherein the portion is fewer than all of the fractional packets;

receiving link performance information, wherein the link performance information includes information obtained from drivers associated with respective first and second links, and wherein the first and second links are provided by respective first and second telecommunications carriers; and

transmitting a first fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the first link and transmitting a second fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the second link, wherein the first and second fractional packets are assigned to their respective links based at least in part on the link performance information.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining a number of fractional packets that form the plurality of fractional packets based at least in part on link performance information.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising monitoring the status of one or more links.

17. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a packet;

constructing a plurality of fractional packets from the received packet such that the received packet is fully reconstructable from a portion of the fractional packets, wherein the portion is fewer than all of the fractional packets;

receiving link performance information, wherein the link performance information includes information obtained from drivers associated with respective first and second links, and wherein the first and second links are provided by respective first and second telecommunications carriers; and

transmitting a first fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the first link and transmitting a second fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the second link, wherein the first and second fractional packets are assigned to their respective links based at least in part on the link performance information.

18. A communication system, comprising:

a processor configured to;

construct a plurality of fractional packets from a received packet such that the received packet is fully reconstructable from a portion of the fractional packets, wherein the portion is fewer than all of the fractional packets; and

an interface configured to;

receive link performance information, wherein the link performance information includes information obtained from drivers associated with respective first and second links; and

transmit a first fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the first link using a first telecommunications format and transmit a second fractional packet in the plurality of fractional packets over the second link using a second telecommunications format, wherein the first and second fractional packets are assigned to their respective links based at least in part on the link performance information.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is configured to determine a number of fractional packets that form the plurality of fractional packets based at least in part on link performance information.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to monitor the status of one or more links.