Method and apparatus for remotely controlling a computer with peer-to-peer command and data transfer

• US 8,862,684 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2011
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GOTO Group Incorporated (LogMeIn, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LogMeIn, Inc.
• Inventors: Tyukasz, Gabor, Anka, Marton B.
• Primary Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US13/337,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20120096172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,025 Days
• Field of Search: 709227-228, 709204-205, 709208-209
• US Class Current: 709/208
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A remote access session is established between client and host computers with the assistance of a gateway. The gateway requests the host computer to send a plurality of data packets to different external addresses and monitors the network ports used for these outgoing packets. The gateway then uses the network port information to predict which port the host will use to transmit future outgoing data packets. A similar process is performed on the client computer. The gateway then directs the client computer to send further data packets to the network address and the predicted port of the host computer. Similarly, the host computer is directed to send further data packets to the network address and predicted port of the client computer. The computers are then directly connected together so that further data communications bypass the gateway.

Claims

1. An Internet-accessible gateway to facilitate communications between a client computer and a host computer, comprising:

a processor;

code adapted to be executed by the processor, comprising;

code to establish a secure connection between the host computer and the gateway;

code to establish a secure connection between the client computer and the gateway;

code to transfer application-level commands and data through a communication path between the host computer and the client computer through the gateway to initiate a remote access operation with respect to the host computer, the application-level commands and data being transferred through the communication path when a direct connection cannot be established between the host computer and the client computer; and

code operative as the application-level commands and data are being passed through the communication path to attempt, based at least in part on a port prediction, to establish a peer-to-peer connection associated with the client computer and the host computer so that further application-level commands and data associated with the remote access operation can be sent between the client computer and host computer directly instead of over the communication path if and when the peer-to-peer connection is established;

the code to transfer application-level commands and data through the communication path continuing to be used to carry out the remote access operation if the peer-to-peer connection cannot be established.

2. The Internet-accessible gateway as described in claim 1 wherein the code to attempt to establish the peer-to-peer connection comprises:

code to instruct the host computer and the client computer to each transmit a plurality of UDP data packets to different external network addresses;

code, based on the responses to the UDP data packets, to predict a port that the host will use to transmit a future data packet, and to predict a port that the client computer will use to transmit a future data packet;

code, based at least in part on the predicted ports, to attempt to establish a UDP connection associated with the host computer and the client computer; and

code, operative after the UDP connection is established, to attempt to establish a TCP-based connection layer over the UDP connection for transfer of further application-level commands and data associated with the remote access operation.

3. The Internet-accessible gateway as described in claim 2 code to restrict a time period over which port prediction is carried out.

4. The Internet-accessible gateway as described in claim 2 further including code to predict one or more next ports that the host will use to transmit a future data packet.

5. The Internet-accessible gateway as described in claim 1 wherein the code to attempt to establish the peer-to-peer connection is executed one or more times until the peer-to-peer connection is successfully established.

6. The Internet-accessible gateway as described in claim 2 wherein the UDP connection is also based on the public network address used by one of:

the host computer, and the client computer.