System and method for data communication between a user terminal and a gateway via a network node

• US 8,811,397 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2010
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCP Engineering GmbH
• Original Assignee: NCP Engineering GmbH
• Inventors: Baehre, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Jr., Michael J
• Application Number:
  US12/706,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20110200045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for communicating data. A user terminal is connected to a first data communication network, and a first network node is connected to the first and a second data communication network. A gateway is connected to the second and a third data communication network. The user terminal packetizes data according to protocols corresponding to a protocol stack. The user terminal further transmits packetized data to the gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks and determines whether the packetized data arrived at the gateway. The user terminal also modifies the packetized data by replacing at least a part of a first header corresponding to a specific protocol of the protocol stack with a replacement. When the gateway receives the packetized data it depacketizes the data and generates, based upon replacement information, a specific payload according to a predefined protocol.

Claims

1. A user terminal for transmitting data to a predetermined gateway via data communication networks and at least one network node, wherein the user terminal is connected to a first data communication network, wherein a first network node is connected to the first data communication network and a second data communication network, and wherein the predetermined gateway is a second network node connected to the second data communication network and a third data communication network, the user terminal comprising:

a packetizing unit that packetizes input data according to protocols corresponding to a predetermined protocol stack by forming, for each of the protocols of the predetermined protocol stack, a respective data packet including a respective header and a respective payload segment, wherein the header corresponds to the payload according to the predetermined protocol stack, and wherein the packetizing unit outputs packetized data;

a transmitting unit that transmits the packetized data to the predetermined gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks;

a determination unit that determines whether the packetized data arrived at the predetermined gateway; and

a modification unit that modifies the packetized data based on an output of the determination unit, wherein the modification unit replaces at least a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) portion of a first header in the packetized data with a Transport Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header, wherein the replaced User Datagram Protocol (UDP) portion of the first header corresponds to a specific protocol of the predetermined protocol stack, and wherein the TCP replacement header does not correspond to a valid protocol of the predetermined protocol stack according to the payload,

wherein the modification unit further modifies the packetized data by inserting an artificial Transport Layer Security (TLS) header into the packetized data.

2. The user terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the modified packetized data to the predetermined gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks.

3. The user terminal according to claim 1, wherein the modification unit replaces the complete first header with a second header, wherein the first header corresponds to a header resulting from packetizing the input data according to a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) comprised in the predetermined protocol stack, and wherein the second header corresponds to a header resulting from packetizing the input data according to a replacement protocol comprising a TCP protocol not comprised in the predetermined protocol stack.

4. The user terminal according to claim 3, wherein the modification unit provides protocol information to the packetizing unit, wherein the protocol information identifies the replacement protocol, and wherein the packetizing unit forms the second header according to the protocol information.

5. The user terminal according to claim 1, wherein the modification unit replaces a UDP destination port number with a Hypertext Transport Protocol Secure (HTTPS) destination port number.

6. The user terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit that stores a header configuration of the packetized data, the header configuration including information identifying the replacement;

wherein the packetizing unit packetizes subsequent input data according to the protocols corresponding to the predetermined protocol stack and according to the header configuration, thereby forming subsequent packetized data having at least a part of a first header replaced with a replacement, and

wherein the transmitting unit transmits the subsequent packetized data to the predetermined gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks.

7. The user terminal according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether a reply message from the predetermined gateway was received at the user terminal.

8. The user terminal according to claim 7, wherein the determination unit determines whether the reply message was not received at the user terminal within a predetermined time period after the transmitting unit has transmitted the packetized data.

9. A gateway for communicating data to and from at least one user terminal via data communication networks and at least one network node, wherein the at least one user terminal is connected to a first data communication network, wherein a first network node is connected to the first data communication network and a second data communication network, and wherein the gateway, being a second network node, is connected to the second data communication network and a third data communication network, the gateway comprising:

a receiving unit that receives packetized data from a specific user terminal, the packetized data being packetized according to protocols corresponding to a predetermined protocol stack by forming, for each of the protocols of the predetermined protocol stack, a respective data packet including a respective header and a respective payload segment;

a detecting unit that detects whether at least a part of a first header in the packetized data was replaced with a Transport Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header and that outputs replacement information indicating at least the first header, wherein the TCP replacement header does not correspond to the payload according to a valid protocol stack;

a depacketizer that depacketizes the packetized data by replacing the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) header and by removing at least an artificial Transport Layer Security (TLS) header from the packetized data and generating a payload segment according to at least one respective protocol of the predetermined protocol stack; and

a transmitting unit that transmits a message to the specific user terminal, the message indicating that the packetized data arrived at the gateways.

10. The gateway according to claim 9, wherein the depacketizer receives data on at least two network ports, wherein a first port number corresponds to a value standardized for the predefined protocol and wherein a second port number corresponds to a value standardized for the TCP replacement protocol.

11. A method for communicating data to and from a predetermined gateway via data communication networks and at least one network node, wherein a user terminal is connected to a first data communication network, wherein a first network node is connected to the first data communication network and a second data communication network, and wherein the predetermined gateway is a second network node connected to the second data communication network and a third data communication network, the method comprising:

generating packetized data, wherein generating comprises packetizing input data according to protocols corresponding to a predetermined protocol stack by forming, for each of the protocols of the predetermined protocol stack, a respective data packet including a respective header and a respective payload segment, wherein the respective header corresponds to the respective payload segment according to the predetermined protocol stack;

transmitting the packetized data from the user terminal to the predetermined gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks;

determining whether the packetized data arrived at the predetermined gateway; and

modifying the packetized data based on a result of the determining, wherein modifying comprises replacing at least a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) portion of a first header in the packetized data with a Transport Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header, wherein the replaced User Datagram protocol (UDP) of the first header corresponds to a specific protocol of the predetermined protocol stack, and wherein the TCP replacement header does not correspond to the payload according to a valid protocol stack,

wherein modifying further comprises inserting an artificial Transport Layer Security (TLS) header into the packetized data.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein modifying the packetized data comprises replacing the complete first header with a second header.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the first header corresponds to a header resulting from packetizing the input data according to a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) of the predetermined protocol stack, and wherein the second header corresponds to a header resulting from packetizing the input data according to a TCP replacement protocol not comprised in the predetermined protocol stack.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein replacing the first header with the second header comprises forming the second header according to protocol information, the protocol information identifying the replacement protocol.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein modifying the packetized data comprises replacing a destination port number field, wherein the value of the destination port number field is a value standardized for a UDP protocol according to which the input data was packetized, and wherein this value is replaced by a value of a destination port number field standardized for a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

storing a header configuration of the packetized data, the header configuration including information identifying the replacement;

packetizing subsequent input data according to the protocols corresponding to the predetermined protocol stack and according to the header configuration, wherein packetizing subsequent input data comprises forming subsequent packetized data having at least a part of a header replaced with a replacement; and

transmitting the subsequent packetized data from the user terminal to the predetermined gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining whether the packetized data arrived at the predetermined gateway comprises determining whether a reply message from the predetermined gateway was received at the user terminal.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein determining whether the packetized data arrived at the predetermined gateway comprises determining whether the reply message was received at the user terminal within a predetermined time period after transmitting the packetized data.

19. A method for communicating data to and from at least one user terminal via data communication networks and at least one network node, wherein the at least one user terminal is connected to a first data communication network, wherein a first network node is connected to the first data communication network and a second data communication network, and wherein a gateway, being a second network node, is connected to the second data communication network and a third data communication network, the method comprising:

receiving, at the gateway, packetized data from a specific user terminal, the packetized data being packetized according to protocols corresponding to a predetermined protocol stack by forming, for each of the protocols of the predetermined protocol stack, a respective data packet including a respective header and a respective payload segment;

detecting whether at least a part of a first header in the packetized data was replaced with a Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header, wherein the TCP replacement header does not correspond to the payload according to a valid protocol stack;

outputting replacement information indicating at least the first header;

depacketizing the packetized data, wherein depacketizing comprises replacing the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header with a User Datagram protocol (UDP) header and by removing at least an artificial Transport Layer Security (TLS) header from the packetized data and generating a payload segment according to at least one respective protocol of the predetermined protocol stack; and

transmitting a message from the gateway to the specific user terminal, the message indicating that the packetized data arrived at the gateway.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein receiving packetized data comprises receiving data on at least two network ports, wherein a first port number corresponds to a value standardized for the predefined UDP protocol and wherein a second port number corresponds to a value standardized for the TCP replacement protocol.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon to perform, when executed by a processor of a user terminal, a method for communicating data to and from a predetermined gateway via data communication networks and at least one network node, wherein the user terminal is connected to a first data communication network, wherein a first network node is connected to the first data communication network and a second data communication network, and wherein the predetermined gateway is a second network node connected to the second data communication network and a third data communication network, the method comprising:

generating packetized data, wherein generating comprises packetizing input data according to protocols corresponding to a predetermined protocol stack by forming, for each of the protocols of the predetermined protocol stack, a respective data packet including a respective header and a respective payload segment, wherein the respective header corresponds to the respective payload segments according to the predetermined protocol stack and the predetermined protocol stack comprises a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and the payload comprises a respective UDP payload segment;

transmitting the packetized data from the user terminal to the predetermined gateway via the first network node and via the first and second data communication networks;

determining whether the packetized data arrived at the predetermined gateway; and

modifying the packetized data based on a result of the determining, wherein modifying comprises replacing at least a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) portion of a first header in the packetized data with a Transport Control Protocol (TCP) replacement header, wherein the replaced User Datagram protocol (UDP) of the first header corresponds to a specific protocol of the predetermined protocol stack, and wherein the TCP replacement header does not correspond to the UDP payload according to a valid protocol stack,

wherein modifying further comprises inserting an artificial Transport Layer Security (TLS) header into the packetized data.