Method for maintaining connection between terminal and network server, terminal and network server

• US 9,198,217 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2010
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.), Lenovo Company Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.), Lenovo Company Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wang, Hui, Tian, Yongzhen, Li, Xiaoding, Zhuang, Yitang
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Dang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mansoury, Nourali
• Application Number:
  US13/498,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20120188928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,890 Days
• Field of Search: 370/311
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method for maintaining the connection between a terminal and a network server is described. The terminal has a first processing unit with a first state and a second state, wherein the power consumption of the second state is less than the power consumption of the first state. When the first processing unit is in the second state, the terminal or the network server sends heartbeat data packets periodically in order to maintain the connection between said terminal and said network server. During the period that the terminal or the network server sends a periodic heartbeat data packet, a main processor of the terminal will not be woken up Thus, the terminal in a sleep state can maintain connection with the network server, and not be woken up due to the heartbeat data packets sent by the network server, which reduces the power consumption of the terminal.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining a connection between a terminal and a network server, said terminal having a first processing unit and a second processing unit, said first processing unit being a main processing unit that has a first state and a second state, a power consumption of said first processing unit in said second state being less than a power consumption of said first processing unit in said first state, said second processing unit being a communication functional unit, wherein a power consumption of said second processing unit is less than said power consumption of said first processing unit in said first state said method comprising:

said second processing unit of said terminal periodically transmitting a heartbeat data packet to said network server to maintain the connection between said terminal and said network server when said first processing unit of said terminal is in said second state, wherein said heartbeat data packet is generated and transmitted to said second processing unit by said first processing unit before said first processing unit enters said second state, and said network server determines not to transmit a feedback data packet to said terminal after said network server receives said heartbeat data packet or

said network server periodically transmitting another heartbeat data packet to said second processing unit of said terminal, to maintain the connection between said terminal and said network server when said first processing unit of said terminal is in said second state.

2. The method for maintaining the connection between the terminal and the network server according to claim 1, wherein, said first processing unit generates said heartbeat data packet by:

obtaining an IP address of said network server and a port number corresponding to the connection between said terminal and said network server;

obtaining an acknowledge number and a sequence number included in the data packet transmitted by said network server; and

using the IP address of said network server and said port number as well as said acknowledge number and said sequence number to construct a TCP data packet as the heartbeat data packet.

3. The method for maintaining the connection between the terminal and the network server according claim 2, wherein, in said heartbeat data packet, the sequence number in a header of the TCP data packet is the acknowledge number of a last TCP data packet transmitted by said network server before said first processing unit enters the second state;

the acknowledge number in the header of the TCP data packet is the sequence number of the last TCP data packet transmitted by said network server before said first processing unit enters the second state;

wherein said network server determines not to transmit the feedback data packet to said terminal by recognizing the sequence number and the acknowledge number in the TCP header of said heartbeat data packet.

4. The method for maintaining the connection between the terminal and the network server according to claim 1, further including:

after said network server receives said heartbeat data packet transmitted by said terminal, not transmitting the feedback data packet to said terminal;

or, after said network server receives the heartbeat data packet, discarding the transmitted feedback data packet before arriving at said terminal;

or, after said network server receives the heartbeat data packet, not waking said first processing unit after the transmitted feedback data packet arrives at said terminal.

5. The method for maintaining the connection between the terminal and the network server according to claim 1, wherein, said network server periodically transmits the another heartbeat data packet, and said method includes:

said network server transmitting the another heartbeat data packet to said terminal, wherein, a hop number of a lifetime (TTL) of the another heartbeat data packet is K−

1, and K is the hop number of the connection between said network server and said terminal.

6. The method for maintaining the connection between the terminal and the network server according to claim 1, wherein, said network server periodically transmits the another heartbeat data packet, said method including:

when said first processing unit is in the second state, and when the another heartbeat data packet arrives at said terminal, said second processing unit recognizing whether said another heartbeat data packet is in a predetermined format;

when said heartbeat data packet is the heartbeat data packet in the predetermined preformat, said second processing unit maintaining said first processing unit in the second state.

7. The method for maintaining the connection between the terminal and the network server according to claim 6, wherein, said another heartbeat data packet in the predetermined format is a heartbeat data packet with a predetermined length or a heartbeat data packet with a particular identifier.

8. A terminal, comprising:

a first processing unit, said first processing unit being a main processing unit and having a first state and a second state, a power consumption of said first processing unit in said second state being less than a power consumption of said first processing unit in said first state;

a second processing unit being a communication functional unit and connected with said first processing unit, the power consumption of said first processing unit in said first state being larger than the power consumption of the second processing unit;

wherein, when said first processing unit is in said second state, said second processing unit periodically transmits a heartbeat data packet to a network server connected through a network, to maintain a connection between said terminal and said network server, after said network server receives said heartbeat data packet, said network server determines not to transmit a feedback data packet to said terminal, and

wherein said first processing unit includes a data packet generating module, configured to generate said heartbeat data packet before said first processing unit enters said second state and a data packet transmitting control module, configured to indicate to transmit said heartbeat data packet to said second processing unit before said first processing unit enters said second state.

9. The terminal according to claim 8, wherein, said data packet generating module includes:

a first information obtaining module, configured to obtain an IP address of said network server and a port number corresponding to the connection between said terminal and said network server;

a second information obtaining module, configured to obtain an acknowledge number and a sequence number of a last TCP data packet transmitted by said network server before said first processing unit enters the second state; and

a data packet constructing module, configured to use the IP address of said network server and said port number as well as said acknowledge number and said sequence number to construct a TCP data packet as the heartbeat data packet.

10. The terminal according to claim 8, wherein,

said first processing unit is a main processor, wherein, said first state is a waking state while said second state is a sleeping state;

said second processing unit is a modem.

11. A network server, comprising:

a data packet generating unit, configured to construct a particular heartbeat data packet, said heartbeat data packet being used to maintain a connection between the network server and a terminal;

a transmitting unit, connected with said data packet generating unit, configured to periodically transmit said particular heartbeat data packet to said terminal through a network to maintain the connection between said terminal and said network server;

wherein, said terminal includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit, said first processing unit is a main processing unit that has a first state and a second state, wherein a power consumption of said first processing unit in said second state is less than the power consumption of said first processing unit in said first state, said second processing unit is a communication functional unit wherein a power consumption of said second processing unit is less than said power consumption of said first processing unit in said first state and during a procedure in which said particular heartbeat data packet is transmitted to said terminal, said first processing unit is in said second state and said second processing unit recognizes whether said heartbeat data packet is in a predetermined format and maintains said first processing unit in said second state if said heartbeat data packet is in a predetermined format.

12. The network server according to claim 11, wherein, said particular heartbeat data packet is:

a heartbeat data packet with a hop number of a lifetime TTL being K−

1, K being the hop number of the connection between said network server and said terminal;

or a heartbeat data packet with a predetermined length or a particular identifier.