Support for network routing selection

• US 8,885,642 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2010
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: K.Mizra LLC
• Original Assignee: Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno
• Inventors: Nooren, Pieter Albert, Keesmaat, Nicolaas Wijnand, Van Deventer, Mattijs Oskar, Norp, Antonius Hendrikus
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US13/393,254
• Publication Number:
  US 20120243532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,533 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/255 Maintenance or indexing of mapping tables

Abstract

An address for controlling transmission of routing through a network is obtained by means of input from a combination of network terminals. Initially, address describing data is received from a user via a source terminal. A control circuit determines whether the address describing data is sufficient to define an address of a destination. If not, the control circuit uses the address describing data to extract information must be met by the destination, but for which it is not known for specific destinations whether it is met. The information may define a desired property of the destination for example, or a mutual relation between the user and the destination. The control circuit then transmits a confirmation request to one or more possible destinations, to ask whether information relates to the possible destination. If a positive confirmation is received back from a possible destination, the address of this possible destination is used. Information that the information relates to the possible destination may be stored to resolve future address describing information.

Claims

1. A method of supplying a destination address to control of routing of data through a network, the method comprising

receiving address describing data from a first user via a source terminal that is coupled to the network;

determining in a control circuit whether the address describing data is sufficient to resolve an address of a destination;

if it has been determined that the address describing data is sufficient to resolve the address, routing data through the network from the source terminal directed at the address resolved from the address describing data; and

if not

transmitting a confirmation request from the control circuit to at least one further terminal over the network, the confirmation request requesting confirmation whether information derived from the address describing data relates to the further terminal and/or confirmation whether the information relates to a second user of the further terminal,

receiving a response to the confirmation request from the further terminal to the control circuit;

routing data through the network from the source terminal directed at the address of the further terminal or the second user dependent on whether the response confirms that the information from the address describing data relates to the further terminal or the second user.

2. A method according to claim 1, comprising selecting a list of a plurality of possible destinations that are consistent with the address describing data and transmitting confirmation requests to respective ones of the possible destinations from said list to request confirmation from each respective one of the possible destination whether the information relates to the respective ones of the possible destinations.

3. A method according to claim 1, comprising

storing a record representing that the information relates to the further terminal or the second user in response to reception of the response when the response confirms that information relates to the further terminal or the second user,

subsequently receiving further address describing data,

comparing further information from the further address describing data with the information represented by the stored record and

routing further data through the network directed at the destination address of the further terminal or the second user responsive to detection of a match between the further information and the information represented by the stored record.

4. A method according to claim 3, comprising

storing data associating the first user with the record;

comparing at least an attribute of a source of the further address describing data with a corresponding attribute of the source of the address describing data;

routing further data through the network directed at the destination address of the second user dependent on whether the attributes of the sources of the address describing data and the further address describing data match each other.

5. A method according to claim 1, comprising

storing a record representing that the information relates to the second user and data associating the first user with the record,

subsequently receiving a further address describing data,

comparing further information from the further address describing data with the information represented by the stored record and

comparing the further user to which the information relates with a further source of the further address describing data;

routing further data through the network directed at the destination address corresponding to the first user, responsive to detection of a match between the further information and the information represented by the stored record and a match between the second user and the further source.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the information derived from the address describing data comprises information that describes a mutual relation between the first user and the second user.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the information defining a capability of the further terminal, the confirmation request querying the further terminal whether it has said capability, the further terminal being configured to report said capability.

8. Network address resolution equipment, comprising

an input configured to receive address describing data from a first user via a source terminal, the address describing data;

a control circuit configured to determine whether the address describing data is sufficient to resolve an address of a destination;

if it has been determined that the address describing data is sufficient to resolve the address, to route data through the network from the source terminal directed at the address resolved from the address describing data and if not to transmit a confirmation request to at least one further terminal over the network, the confirmation request requesting confirmation whether information derived from the address describing relates to the further terminal and/or confirmation whether the information relates to a second user of the further terminal, to receive a response to the confirmation request from the further terminal to the control circuit and to supply a destination address for control of routing of data through the network, the destination address being selected dependent on whether the response confirms that the information from the address describing data relates to the further terminal or the second user, the destination address corresponding to the further terminal or the second user when the response confirms that the information from the address describing data relates to the further terminal or the second user.

9. Network address resolution equipment according to claim 8, wherein the control circuit is configured to select a list of a plurality of possible destinations that are consistent with the address describing data and to transmit confirmation requests to respective ones of the possible destinations from said list to request confirmation from each respective one of the possible destination whether the information relates to the respective ones of the possible destinations.

10. Network address resolution equipment according to claim 8, comprising a storage device for storage of address resolution information, the control circuit being configured to store a record representing that the information relates to the further terminal or the second user in response to reception of the response when the response confirms that information relates to the further terminal or the second user and subsequently to receive further address describing data, to compare further information from the further address describing data with the information represented by the stored record and to supply a further destination address for control of routing of further data through the network directed at the destination address of the further terminal or the second user responsive to detection of a match between the further information and the information represented by the stored record.

11. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program embodied thereon, the computer program including instructions for causing a processor to:

receive address describing data from a first user via a source terminal that is coupled to the network;

determine whether the address describing data is sufficient to resolve an address of a destination;

if it has been determined that the address describing data is sufficient to resolve the address, route data through the network from the source terminal directed at the address resolved from the address describing data; and

if not

transmit a confirmation request to at least one further terminal over the network, the confirmation request requesting confirmation whether information derived from the address describing relates to the further terminal and/or confirmation whether the information relates to a second user of the further terminal,

receive a response to the confirmation request from the further terminal to the control circuit;

supply a destination address for controlling routing of data through the network from the source terminal directed at the further terminal or the second user, dependent on whether the response confirms that the information from the address describing data relates to the further terminal or the second user.