System and method for traversing a NAT device for peer-to-peer hybrid communications

• US 9,172,702 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2013
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
• Inventors: Chaturvedi, Sivakumar, Gundabathula, Satish
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US13/789,038
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2567 for reachability, e.g. inquiring the address of a correspondent behind a NAT server
• 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 61/2578 without involvement of the NAT server
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• 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 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

An improved system and method are disclosed for peer-to-peer communications. In one example, the method enables an endpoint to traverse a NAT device using a stateless reflector.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a first endpoint to traverse a network address translation (NAT) device associated with a second endpoint in a peer-to-peer communications system, wherein the NAT device includes a pinhole maintained between the NAT device and a stateless reflector, the method comprising:

receiving, by the first endpoint, a profile and a routing table corresponding to the first endpoint from an access server of the peer-to-peer communications system in response to performing a login process with the access server, wherein the profile and the routing table include contact information needed for the first endpoint to communicate with the second endpoint within the peer-to-peer communications system and wherein the contact information identifies the NAT device;

determining, based on the contact information, whether a message sent to the second endpoint from an external source will only pass through the NAT device if the second endpoint has first sent a message to the external source; and

if the determining indicates that the second endpoint must first send a message, sending a first message to the stateless reflector for reflection to the second endpoint via the pinhole in the NAT device.

2. A method for enabling a first endpoint to communicate with a second endpoint in a peer-to-peer network, the method comprising:

receiving, by the first endpoint, a profile and a routing table corresponding to the first endpoint from an access server of the peer-to-peer network in response to performing a login process with the access server, wherein the profile and the routing table include contact information needed for the first endpoint to communicate with the second endpoint within the peer-to-peer network;

determining, by the first endpoint based on the contact information, whether a first message will be received by the second endpoint if the first message is sent directly to the second endpoint or whether the first message will only be received by the second endpoint if the first message is sent to the second endpoint via a reflector due to a network address translation (NAT) device associated with the second endpoint; and

sending, by the first endpoint, the first message by one of a direct route that does not include the reflector and an indirect route that includes the reflector, wherein the first message is sent directly to the second endpoint using the direct route unless the determining indicates that the first message will only be received by the second endpoint if the first message is sent via the reflector using the indirect route.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the first message is a notification message informing the second endpoint that the first endpoint is online, and wherein the first message identifies any NAT device associated with the first endpoint.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising establishing a communication session between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, wherein all signaling between the first endpoint and the second endpoint passes through the reflector, and all media is transferred directly between the first endpoint and the second endpoint without passing through the reflector.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising establishing a communication session between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, wherein all signaling and media between the first endpoint and the second endpoint passes through the reflector.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving, by the first endpoint, a second message from the second endpoint indicating that the second endpoint is going offline;

receiving, by the first endpoint, a third message from the second endpoint indicating that the second endpoint is online, wherein the third message is received after the second message and includes new NAT information for the second endpoint; and

updating, by the first endpoint, the contact information with the new NAT information.

7. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

logging off, by the first endpoint, from the peer-to-peer network;

performing, by the first endpoint, the login process to log back into the peer-to-peer network; and

receiving, by the first endpoint, an updated profile corresponding to the first endpoint from the access server, wherein the second endpoint is not identified in the profile because the second endpoint was not online when the updated profile was received by the first endpoint.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

receiving, by the first endpoint, a second message from the second endpoint indicating that the second endpoint is online, wherein the second message includes address and NAT information for the second endpoint; and

updating, by the first endpoint, the contact information with the address and NAT information for the second endpoint.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein the profile and routing table further include an internet protocol (IP) address of the reflector.

10. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving, by the first endpoint, a second message from a third endpoint indicating that the third endpoint is online, wherein the second message includes address and NAT information for a NAT device associated with the third endpoint; and

updating, by the first endpoint, the profile and routing table with the address and NAT information for the third endpoint.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein the profile identifies the second endpoint as one of a plurality of endpoints with which the first endpoint has permission to communicate and indicates a status of the second endpoint as online, and the routing table contains address information needed for the first endpoint to communicate directly with any of the plurality of endpoints that are online.

12. A first endpoint comprising:

a hardware platform; and

an architecture having

a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to provide user access to an endpoint engine;

an operating system configured to provide access to the hardware platform; and

the endpoint engine coupled to the GUI and the operating system, the endpoint engine having a plurality of functional components configured for;

receiving a profile and a routing table corresponding to the first endpoint from an access server of a peer-to-peer network in response to performing a login process with the access server, wherein the profile and the routing table include contact information needed for the first endpoint to communicate with a second endpoint within the peer-to-peer network;

determining, based on the contact information, whether a first message will be received by the second endpoint if the first message is sent directly to the second endpoint or whether the first message will only be received by the second endpoint if the first message is sent to the second endpoint via a reflector due to a network address translation (NAT) device associated with the second endpoint; and

sending the first message by one of a direct route that does not include the reflector and an indirect route that includes the reflector, wherein the first message is sent directly to the second endpoint using the direct route unless the determining indicates that the first message will only be received by the second endpoint if the first message is sent via the reflector using the indirect route.

13. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the first message is a notification message informing the second endpoint that the first endpoint is online, and wherein the first message identifies any NAT device associated with the first endpoint.

14. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the plurality of functional components are further configured for establishing a communication session between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, wherein all signaling between the first endpoint and the second endpoint passes through the reflector, and all media is transferred directly between the first endpoint and the second endpoint without passing through the reflector.

15. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the plurality of functional components are further configured for establishing a communication session between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, wherein all signaling and media between the first endpoint and the second endpoint passes through the reflector.

16. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the plurality of functional components are further configured for:

receiving a second message from the second endpoint indicating that the second endpoint is going offline;

receiving a third message from the second endpoint indicating that the second endpoint is online, wherein the third message is received after the second message and includes new NAT information for the second endpoint; and

updating the contact information with the new NAT information.

17. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the plurality of functional components are further configured for:

logging off from the peer-to-peer network;

performing the login process to log back into the peer-to-peer network; and

receiving an updated profile corresponding to the first endpoint from the access server, wherein the second endpoint is not identified in the profile because the second endpoint was not online when the updated profile was received by the first endpoint.

18. The first endpoint of claim 17 wherein the plurality of functional components are further configured for:

receiving a second message from the second endpoint indicating that the second endpoint is online, wherein the second message includes address and NAT information for the second endpoint; and

updating the contact information with the address and NAT information for the second endpoint.

19. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the profile and routing table further include an internet protocol (IP) address of the reflector.

20. The first endpoint of claim 12 wherein the plurality of functional components are further configured for:

receiving a second message from a third endpoint indicating that the third endpoint is online, wherein the second message includes address and NAT information for a NAT device associated with the third endpoint; and

updating the profile and routing table with the address and NAT information for the third endpoint.