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Using tunneling to enhance remote LAN connectivity

  • US 9,160,714 B2
  • Filed: 06/30/2003
  • Issued: 10/13/2015
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of packet-switched communications, the method comprising:

  • interconnecting two physically separate Local Area Network (LAN) segments, a remote LAN segment and a fixed LAN segment, into one logical LAN segment; and

    providing connectivity on a datalink-layer by encapsulating LAN frames or datagrams to create a tunnel from the remote LAN segment through a packet-switched mobile network and a packet-switched fixed network to the fixed LAN segment;

    wherein said tunnel is connected to the remote LAN segment via a first bridge, and wherein said tunnel is connected to the fixed LAN segment via a second bridge, such that the tunnel extends from the remote LAN segment to the fixed LAN segment, thereby creating said one logical LAN segment;

    wherein said first and second bridges each provide an interface between a physical layer-2 interface of the LAN segments and a logical layer-3 interface of the tunnel;

    wherein the remote LAN segment is geographically separate from the fixed LAN segment; and

    wherein a host on the fixed LAN segment can communicate bidirectionally with a host on the geographically separate remote LAN segment as though both hosts were connected on the same physical LAN segment.

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