Custodian routing with network address translation in content-centric networks

• US 9,178,917 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Issued: 11/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Mosko, Marc E., Barber, Simon
• Primary Examiner(s): Woolcock, Madhu
• Application Number:
  US12/970,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,783 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/237, 709/217, 709/227, 709/218
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for facilitating establishment of connections between a local endpoint and a remote endpoint. During operation, the system sends, from the local endpoint, a single connection-request message to a proxy server, which forks the single connection-request message to a number of remote endpoints. The system receives one or more response messages from the remote endpoints. A respective response message carries address information associated with the remote endpoint. Upon receiving the response message, the system sends an acknowledgment corresponding to the received response message to the corresponding remote endpoint via the proxy server, and establishes a connection between the local endpoint and at least one remote endpoint.

Claims

1. A computer-executable method for facilitating establishment of a session initiation protocol (SIP) connection between a local endpoint and a plurality of remote endpoints of a remote device, the method comprising:

sending one or more packets, by the local endpoint, to at least one server according to session traversal utilities for network address translation (NAT) protocol;

determining, by the local endpoint, a type of firewall that the local endpoint is situated behind based on replies from the at least one server indicating an address observed by the at least one server from which the one or more packets were sent;

sending, by the local endpoint, a single connection-request message identifying the remote device to a proxy server, wherein the proxy server forks the single connection-request message to the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device based on a registered mapping which correlates an address for each of the plurality of remote endpoints with the remote device, each of the plurality of remote endpoints comprising a communication interface for the remote device;

receiving, from the proxy server, a 200/OK message being relayed by the proxy server from each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device;

determining, by the local endpoint, whether to connect sequentially or in parallel to each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device based on the determined type of firewall that the local endpoint is situated behind; and

establishing, at an application layer, a SIP connection between the local endpoint and each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device by the local endpoint sequentially sending an acknowledgement corresponding to each of the received 200/OK messages to the corresponding remote endpoint of the plurality of remote endpoints via the proxy server, wherein the acknowledgements are paced between transmissions.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining the local endpoint is not behind any NAT or behind a cone type NAT, sending a single connection-request message to the proxy server, wherein this connection-request message carries address information associated with the local endpoint.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether one or more remote endpoints are in an energy-saving sleep mode; and

in response to the one or more remote endpoints being in the energy-saving sleep mode, waking up at least one of the remote endpoints using an out-of-band signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the out-of-band signal includes a telephone call, a text message, or both.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a 200/OK message carries a respective session offer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the session offer includes a list of addresses corresponding to a respective remote endpoint associated with a respective 200/OK message, wherein the list of addresses includes a NAT external address and port and may optionally include a local address and port and/or an external relay address.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein an acknowledgement carries a respective session answer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the session answers include a list of addresses corresponding to the local endpoint, and wherein the list of addresses includes a NAT external address and port and may optionally include a local address and port and/or an external relay address.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the local endpoint and the remote endpoints are coupled to a content-centric network (CCN).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of remote endpoints are behind a NAT firewall.

11. A computer device capable of establishing a session initiation protocol (SIP) connection between a local endpoint belonging to the computer device and a plurality of remote endpoints of a remote device, the computer device comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a connection analyzer, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to send one or more packets, by the local endpoint, to at least one server according to session traversal utilities for network address translation (NAT) protocol, and determine a type of firewall that the local endpoint is situated behind based on replies from the at least one server indicating an address observed by the at least one server from which the one or more packets were sent, wherein the connection analyzer determines whether to connect sequentially or in parallel to each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device based on the determined type of firewall that the local endpoint is situated behind;

a connection-request sender, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to send, by the local endpoint, a single connection-request message identifying the remote device to a proxy server, wherein the proxy server forks the single connection-request message to the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device based on a registered mapping which correlates an address for each of the plurality of remote endpoints with the remote device, each of the plurality of remote endpoints comprising a communication interface for the remote device;

a receiver, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to receive, from the proxy server, a 200/OK message being relayed by the proxy server from each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device; and

a connector, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to establish, at an application layer, a SIP connection between the local endpoint and each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device by the local endpoint sequentially sending an acknowledgement corresponding to each of the received 200/OK messages to the corresponding remote endpoint of the plurality of remote endpoints via the proxy server, wherein the acknowledgements are paced between transmissions.

12. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the local endpoint, the plurality of remote endpoints, or both are respectively behind a network address translation (NAT) firewall.

13. The computer device of claim 12, further comprising a determinator, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to perform the determining of the type of NAT firewall behind which the local endpoint resides, wherein, in response to the local endpoint not being behind any NAT or behind a cone type NAT, the connection-request sender sends a single connection-request message to the proxy server, wherein this connection-request message carries address information associated with the local endpoint.

14. The computer device of claim 11, further comprising:

a second determinator, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to determine whether one or more remote endpoints are in an energy-saving sleep mode; and

a waker, implemented with instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to wake up at least one of the remote endpoints using an out-of-band signal, in response to the one or more remote endpoints being in the energy-saving sleep mode.

15. The computer device of claim 14, wherein the out-of-band signal includes a telephone call, a text message, or both.

16. The computer device of claim 11, wherein a 200/OK message carries a respective session offer.

17. The computer device of claim 16, wherein the session offer includes a list of addresses corresponding to a respective remote endpoint associated with a respective 200/OK message, wherein the list of addresses includes a NAT external address and port and may optionally include a local address and port and/or an external relay address.

18. The computer device of claim 11, wherein an acknowledgement carries a respective session answer.

19. The computer device of claim 18, wherein the session answers include a list of addresses corresponding to the local endpoint, and wherein the list of addresses includes a NAT external address and port and may optionally include a local address and port and/or an external relay address.

20. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the local endpoint and the remote endpoints are coupled to a content-centric network (CCN).

21. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the plurality of remote endpoints are behind a NAT firewall.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for facilitating establishment of a session initiation protocol (SIP) connection between a local endpoint and a plurality of remote endpoints of a remote device, the method comprising:

sending one or more packets, by the local endpoint, to at least one server according to session traversal utilities for network address translation (NAT) protocol;

determining, by the local endpoint, a type of firewall that the local endpoint is situated behind based on replies from the at least one server indicating an address observed by the at least one server from which the one or more packets were sent;

sending, by the local endpoint, a single connection-request message identifying the remote device to a proxy server, wherein the proxy server forks the single connection-request message to the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device based on a registered mapping which correlates an address for each of the plurality of remote endpoints with the remote device, each of the plurality of remote endpoints comprising a communication interface for the remote device;

receiving, from the proxy server, a 200/OK message being relayed by the proxy server from each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device;

determining, by the local endpoint, whether to connect sequentially or in parallel to each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device based on the determined type of firewall that the local endpoint is situated behind; and

establishing, at an application layer, a SIP connection between the local endpoint and each of the plurality of remote endpoints of the remote device by the local endpoint sequentially sending an acknowledgement corresponding to each of the received 200/OK messages to the corresponding remote endpoint of the plurality of remote endpoints via the proxy server, wherein the acknowledgements are paced between transmissions.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 22,

wherein a 200/OK message includes a respective list of addresses which corresponds to a remote endpoint associated with the 200/OK message and which includes a NAT external address and port, and may optionally include a local address and port and/or an external relay address;

and

wherein an acknowledgement includes a respective list of addresses which corresponds to the local endpoint and which includes a NAT external address and port, and may optionally include a local address and port and/or an external relay address.