Dynamic flow management at a firewall based on error messages

• US 9,338,098 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2012
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Gupta, Praveen
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chambers, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US13/713,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20140173085A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,244 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709223-224, 726/1, 726/9, 726/11
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/266 Stopping or restarting the source, e.g. X-on or X-off
• 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 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method and system are provided for blocking data packets that are not desired or capable of being received. One or more data packets are received from a data server. The data packets that are addressed to a wireless device are transmitted via a gateway server. The error messages generated by either the wireless device or the gateway server are forwarded to the data server and their number also counted. When the number of error messages meets a predetermined criterion, additional data packets from the data server that are addressed to the wireless device are blocked, for example, preventing tolling the user account of the wireless device for data packets sent by the data server when the device is not available or the user no longer wants to receive the data.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a firewall and from a multimedia server, one or more multimedia data packets addressed to a wireless device, the multimedia data packets included in a multicast data stream and comprising data representative of multimedia content requested by a user of the wireless device;

transmitting, by the firewall, the multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device to a gateway server for delivery through a mobile traffic network to the wireless device, the gateway server configured to track, for billing purposes, an amount of data packets communicated to and from the wireless device;

receiving and counting, by the firewall, a number of error messages generated by at least one of the wireless device and the gateway server and forwarding the error messages to the multimedia server;

determining, by the firewall, that the number of error messages meets a predetermined criterion, the predetermined criterion including at least one of;

a number of consecutive error messages exceeding a first threshold within a first predetermined time; and

a percentage of error messages to a number of data packets from the multimedia server addressed to the wireless device exceeding a predetermined percentage-threshold within a predetermined time; and

blocking, by the firewall, additional multimedia data packets received from the multimedia server and addressed to the wireless device from transmission to the gateway server, in response to the determining that the number of error messages meets the predetermined criterion.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the firewall, that the number of error messages is below a second threshold within a second predetermined time; and

resuming, by the firewall, transmission of multimedia data packets from the multimedia server addressed to the wireless device via the gateway server in response to the determining that the number of error messages is below the second threshold within the second predetermined time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the first threshold is equal to the second threshold; and

a duration of the first predetermined time is equal to a duration of the second predetermined time.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating, by the firewall, a time difference between consecutive error messages; and

resetting, by the firewall, the error count upon determining that the time difference between consecutive error messages is above a third threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing, by the firewall, the multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device; and

blocking, by the firewall, the multimedia data packets that match a predetermined rule set based on the analyzing.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the error messages are Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error messages.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, by the firewall, a security layer to prevent unauthorized access to the mobile traffic network by a device external to the mobile traffic network.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the providing of the security layer to prevent unauthorized access to the mobile traffic network comprises:

receiving one or more data packets addressed to the wireless device;

analyzing the received one or more data packets according to a predetermined rule set;

determining, based on the analyzing of the received one or more data packets, that the received one or more data packets meet the predetermined rule set; and

upon determining that the received one or more data packets meet the predetermined rule set, forwarding the one or more data packets to the wireless device by way of the mobile traffic network.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the gateway server is further configured to provide data usage information of the wireless device to a billing server, the data usage information based on the tracked amount of multimedia data packets.

7. A computer system configured as at least one server, the computer system comprising:

a processor;

a network interface coupled to the processor and configured to enable communications via a communication network;

at least one storage device accessible by the processor for content and programming;

a program stored in the storage device, wherein execution of the program by the processor configures the computer system to perform functions, including functions to;

receive, from a multimedia server, one or more multimedia data packets addressed to a wireless device, the multimedia data packets comprising data representative of multimedia content requested by a user of the wireless device;

transmit the multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device to a gateway server for delivery through the communication network to the wireless device, the gateway server configured to track, for billing purposes, an amount of data packets communicated to and from the wireless device;

receive and count a number of error messages generated by at least one of the wireless device and the gateway server and forwarding the error messages to the multimedia server;

determine that the number of error messages meets a predetermined criterion, the predetermined criterion including at least one of;

a number of consecutive error messages exceeding a first threshold within a first predetermined time; and

a percentage of error messages to a number of multimedia data packets from the multimedia server addressed to the wireless device exceeding a predetermined percentage-threshold within a predetermined time; and

block additional multimedia data packets received from the multimedia server and addressed to the wireless device from transmission to the gateway server, in response to the determination that the number of error messages meets the predetermined criterion.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein execution of the program by the processor further configures the computer system to perform functions to:

determine that the number of error messages are below a second threshold within a second predetermined time; and

resume transmission of multimedia data packets from the multimedia server addressed to the wireless device via the gateway server in response to the determination that the number of error messages is below the second threshold within the second predetermined time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the first threshold is equal to the second threshold; and

a duration of the first predetermined time is equal to a duration of the second predetermined time.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein execution of the program by the processor further configures the computer system to perform functions to:

calculate a time difference between consecutive error messages;

determine that the time difference between consecutive error messages is above a third threshold; and

reset the error count in response to the determination that the time difference between consecutive error messages is above a third threshold.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein execution of the program by the processor further configures the computer system to perform functions to:

analyze the multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device; and

block the multimedia data packets that match a predetermined rule set based on the analysis.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the error messages are Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error messages.

13. A system comprising:

a gateway server coupled to a mobile traffic network configured to provide wireless data communication for a wireless device with a multimedia data server via a data network; and

a firewall coupled between the data network and the gateway server;

wherein;

the gateway server is configured to;

communicate multimedia data packets to and from the wireless device through the mobile traffic network;

track an amount of multimedia data packets communicated to and from the wireless device;

provide data usage information to a billing server, the data usage information based on the tracked amount of multimedia packets; and

transmit error messages received from the wireless device to the firewall; and

the firewall is configured to;

provide a security layer to prevent unauthorized access to the mobile traffic network by a device external to the mobile traffic network;

receive, from the multimedia server through the data network, one or more multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device;

transmit the multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device to the gateway server;

receive and count a number of error messages generated by at least one of the wireless device and the gateway server and forward the error messages to the multimedia server;

determine that the number of error messages meets a predetermined criterion, the predetermined criterion including at least one of;

a number of consecutive error messages exceeding a first threshold within a first predetermined time; and

a percentage of error messages to a number of multimedia data packets from the multimedia server addressed to the wireless device exceeding a predetermined percentage-threshold within a predetermined time; and

block additional multimedia data packets received from the multimedia server and addressed to the wireless device from transmission to the gateway server, in response to the determination that the number of error messages meets a predetermined criterion.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the gateway server is further configured to generate error messages to the firewall when the wireless device is not available.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the firewall is further configured to:

determine that the number of error messages is below a second threshold within a second predetermined time; and

transmit multimedia data packets from the multimedia server addressed to the wireless device via the gateway server in response to the determination that the number of error messages is below the second threshold within the second predetermined time.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the first threshold is equal to the second threshold; and

a duration of the first predetermined time is equal to a duration of the second predetermined time.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the firewall is further configured to:

calculate a time difference between consecutive error messages;

determine that the time difference between consecutive error messages is above a threshold; and

reset the error count in response to the determination that the time difference between consecutive error messages is above the threshold.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the firewall is further configured to:

analyze the multimedia data packets addressed to the wireless device; and

block the multimedia data packets that match a predetermined rule set based on the analysis.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the error messages are Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error messages.