Active multi-path network redundancy with performance monitoring

• US 9,203,783 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2014
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aerovironment, Brooks Acordia IP Law, P.C.
• Original Assignee: Aerovironment
• Inventors: Koch, Rolland Mitchell, Sechrist, William Stuart, Hiranandani, Daniel Bailey
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad, Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAGLO, EMMANUEL K
• Application Number:
  US14/519,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20150163174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 407 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/02 by diversity reception
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0835 One way packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/552 by ensuring the integrity of packets received through redundant connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC

Abstract

A receiving network node (210) configured to select from received packets differing by time of initial transmission from a sending network node (230), and accepting for transmission, based on initial transmission time, the selected packets to an application layer (740). An internetworked processor node configured to: (a) read a sequence number and an originator identifier of a received packet message (810); (b) compare a stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier with the received packet sequence number (820); (c) if the received packet sequence number is less than or equal to the stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier, then discard (840) the received packet; and (d) if the received packet sequence number is greater than the stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier, then deliver (860) the message of the received packet to an application based on an upper layer protocol.

Claims

1. A method of redundant message processing, comprising:

assigning, by a processor of an originator node;

a frame sequence number to a frame of a first packet of a dual redundant set;

an originator identification number to the frame of the first packet of the dual redundant set;

the frame sequence number to a frame of a second packet of the dual redundant set; and

the originator identification number to the frame of the second packet of the dual redundant set;

tagging, by a first routing switch, the first packet of the dual redundant set as a first virtual local area network (VLAN);

tagging, by a second routing switch, the second packet of the dual redundant set as a second VLAN;

recording, by a processor of a destination node;

the frame sequence number and originator number of a first received packet of the dual redundant set comprising the first packet and the second packet;

dropping, by the processor of the destination node;

a second received packet of the dual redundant set having the recorded frame sequence number and the recorded originator number.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

connecting a first network interface card to the first routing switch.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

connecting a second network interface card to the second routing switch.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting, by a first network interface card, the first packet of the dual redundant set to the first routing switch.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

transmitting, by a second network interface card, the second packet of the dual redundant set to the second routing switch.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

transmitting, by at least one first VLAN port of the first routing switch, the first packet of the dual redundant set to a third routing switch; and

transmitting, by at least one second VLAN port of the second routing switch, the second packet of the dual redundant set to a fourth routing switch.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising transmitting, by at least one first VLAN port of the third routing switch, the first packet of the dual redundant set to the destination node;

and

transmitting, by at least one first VLAN port of the fourth routing switch, the second packet of the dual redundant set to the destination node.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the originator node comprises a near real-time controller and the destination node comprises a gateway and an aircraft effector responsive to payload information of the received frames.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising, preceding the step of dropping:

recording, by the processor of the destination node;

the frame sequence number and originator number of the second received packet of the dual redundant set having the recorded originator number of the first received packet, if a difference between the frame sequence number of the second received packet and the recorded frame sequence number of the first received packet is above an upper threshold or below a lower threshold value.

10. A system comprising:

a first flight control computer (FCC) of an air vehicle;

a first network interface card configured to transmit a first packet of a dual redundant set, wherein the first packet of the dual redundant set comprises a sequence number and a message from the first FCC;

a second network interface card configured to transmit a second packet of a dual redundant set, wherein the second packet of the dual redundant set comprises the sequence number and the message from the first FCC;

a first destination node comprising a processor and addressable memory, wherein the processor is configured to;

read a sequence number and an originator identifier of a received packet of the dual redundant set;

compare a stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier with the sequence number of the received packet of the dual redundant set; and

discard the received packet if the sequence number of the received packet is less than or equal to the stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier;

wherein the path from the first network interface card to the first destination node has no physical layer network connections in common with the path from the second network interface card to the first destination node.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor of the first destination node is further configured to:

deliver the message of the received packet to an application based on an upper layer protocol if the sequence number of the received packet is greater than the stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor of the first destination node is further configured to:

store the sequence number of the received packet associated with the originator identifier if the sequence number of the received packet is greater than the stored highest sequence number associated with the originator identifier.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the first FCC comprises a near real-time controller and the first destination node comprises a gateway and an aircraft effector responsive to the message of the received packet of the dual redundant set.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the first FCC is configured to transmit the first packet of the dual redundant set to the first network interface card and the second packet of the dual redundant set to the second network interface card directly via a VxWorks muxLib interface.

15. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a second flight control computer (FCC) of an air vehicle;

a third network interface card configured to transmit a third packet of a second dual redundant set, wherein the third packet of the second dual redundant set comprises a second sequence number and a second message from the second FCC;

a fourth network interface card configured to transmit a fourth packet of a second dual redundant set, wherein the second packet of the second dual redundant set comprises the second sequence number and the second message from the second FCC.