Data transmission method and apparatus

• US 8,630,203 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2011
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Liao, Junhua, Zhang, Yanqiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Gidado, Rasheed
• Application Number:
  US13/279,040
• Publication Number:
  US 20120033579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 370/336, 370/235, 370/230.1, 370/394, 370/395, 709/230, 709/250, 709/237, 709/235, 709/238, 709/227, 709/239, 709/240, 709/242
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1854 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0097 Relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2466 using signalling traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/06 Transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP [Transport Control Protocol] over wireless transmission control protocol/Internet protocol [TCP/IP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16

Abstract

A data transmission method includes receiving a data packet sent by a sender and recording information about the data packet received, sending the received data packet to a receiver through a protocol layer, looking up recorded information about data packets according to a data packet mapping after the protocol layer receives confirmation information of a data packet sent by the receiver to the sender. The data packet mapping is a relation between a recorded data packet and a data packet received by the protocol layer. The method further includes constructing an acknowledgement destined for the sender according to information about the data packet obtained by the steps of looking up recorded information about received data packets.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, comprising:

receiving, by a transmission control protocol (TCP) function enhancement entity, a data packet from a sender;

communicating, by the TCP function enhancement entity, via a radio link control, the received data packet to a receiver;

after confirmation information of the data packet is received by the radio link control layer from the receiver, the confirmation information indicating a receipt by the radio link control layer from the receiver, obtaining, by the TCP function enhancement entity, information about the data packet according to the confirmation information by looking up a data packet mapping shared between the TCP function enhancement entity and the radio link control layer;

if no acknowledgement message for receipt of the data packet at the receiver is received by the TCP function enhancement entity from the receiver, constructing, by the TCP function enhancement entity, an acknowledgement (ACK) to indicate that the data packet is correctly received by the receiver, according to the obtained information about the data packet; and

sending, by the TCP function enhancement entity, the constructed ACK to the sender;

wherein the data packet mapping comprises a relationship between the data packet received at the TCP function enhancement entity and a data packet received by the radio link control layer;

wherein the data packet is a TCP packet, and the step of constructing the ACK comprises;

constructing, by the TCP function enhancement entity, the ACK according to a packet length and a TCP sequence number (SN) of the TCP packet, wherein a SN of the constructed ACK is equal to the packet length plus the TCP SN.

2. The data transmission method according to claim 1, further comprising:

recording, by the TCP function enhancement entity, the information about the received data packet.

3. The data transmission method according to claim 2, wherein recording, by the TCP function enhancement entity, the information about the received data packet comprises:

recording, by the TCP function enhancement entity, a sequence number (SN) of the received data packet according to an order of receiving the data packet.

4. The data transmission method according to claim 3, wherein:

the data packet is a TCP packet, the step of recording the information about the received packet further comprises;

recording, by the TCP function enhancement entity, a packet length and a TCP SN of the TCP packet.

5. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is a terminal, and the data packet is a downlink data packet destined for the terminal from the sender.

6. A transmission control protocol (TCP) function enhancement entity, comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive a data packet from a sender;

a sending unit configured to communicate the received data packet to a receiver through a radio link control (RLC) layer;

an obtaining unit configured to, after confirmation information for receipt of the data packet at the receiver is received by the RLC layer from the receiver, obtain information about the received data packet according to the confirmation information by looking up a data packet mapping shared between the TCP function enhancement entity and the RLC layer;

a constructing unit configured to construct an acknowledgement (ACK) for receipt of the data packet at the receiver according to the obtained information about the data packet, if no confirmation message for receipt of the data packet at the receiver is received by the TCP function enhancement entity from the receiver; and

a transmitting unit configured to send the constructed ACK to the sender;

wherein the data packet mapping comprises a relationship between the received data packet recorded at the TCP function enhancement entity and a data packet received by the RLC layer;

wherein the data packet is a TCP packet, the recorded information about the data packet further comprises a packet length and a TCP sequence number (SN) of the TCP packet; and

the constructing unit is configured to construct the ACK according to the packet length and the TCP SN of the TCP packet, wherein a SN of the constructed ACK is equal to the packet length of the TCP plus the TCP SN of the TCP packet.

7. The TCP function enhancement entity according to claim 6, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to record the information about the received data packet;

the information about the received data packet recorded by the receiving unit comprises a sequence number (SN) indicating an order that the data packet is received at the TCP function enhancement entity.

8. The TCP function enhancement entity according to claim 6, wherein the TCP function enhancement entity comprises a TCP proxy.

9. a network element configured to transmit data between a sender and a receiver, the network element comprising:

a transmission control protocol (TCP) function enhancement entity; and

a radio link control (RLC) layer,

wherein,

the TCP function enhancement entity is configured to receive a data packet from the sender,

the RLC layer is configured to receive a confirmation information from the receiver, the confirmation information indicating that the data packet is correctly received by the receiver, and

the TCP function enhancement entity is further configured to;

after the RLC layer receives the confirmation information from the receiver, obtain information about the data packet according to the confirmation information by looking up a data packet mapping shared between the TCP function enhancement entity and the RLC layer, the data packet mapping comprising a relation between the data packet received at the TCP function enhancement entity and a data packet received by the radio link control layer;

construct an acknowledge (ACK) indicating receipt of the data packet at the receiver based on the obtained information about the data packet if the TCP function enhancement entity does not receive from the receiver a confirmation message for receipt of the data packet at the receiver; and

send the constructed ACK to the sender;

wherein the data packet is a TCP packet, the TCP function enhancement entity is configured to construct the ACK according to a packet length of the TCP packet and a TCP sequence number of the TCP packet, wherein a sequence number of the constructed ACK is equal to a sum of the packet length and the TCP sequence number of the TCP packet.

10. The network element according to claim 9, the TCP function enhancement entity is further configured to record the information about the packet data received from the sender.

11. The network element according to claim 10, wherein the data packet received from the sender is a TCP packet, and the recorded information comprises a packet length and a TCP serial number of the received TCP packet.

12. The network element according to claim 9, wherein the network element comprises a radio network controller (RNC).

13. The network element according to claim 9, wherein the data packet comprises a downlink data packet.