Systems and methods for communicating a stream of data packets via multiple communications channels

• US 9,560,085 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2012
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vonage Business Inc (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Vonage Business Inc (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Sterman, Baruch, Gorrepati, Chakrapani
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): ANDREWS, LEON T
• Application Number:
  US13/561,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20140029476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/16 Arrangements for providing special services to substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1076 Screening of IP real time communications, e.g. spam over Internet telephony [SPIT]

Abstract

Systems and methods of preventing an Internet service provider from identifying a stream of data packets as carrying a voice over Internet protocol telephony communication can make use of encryption techniques to prevent the Internet service provider from examining the content of the data packets. Also, multiple communications channels may be established between a telephony device and elements of an IP telephony system. A stream of data packets bearing the media of an IP telephony communication is then separated into sub-streams, and each sub-stream is sent through a different one of the communications channels. This prevents an Internet service provider from identifying a stream of data packets as bearing the media of an IP telephony communication based on a pattern in the data traffic.

Claims

1. A method of communicating data packets bearing media of a telephony communication, comprising:

establishing a first communications channel through a network of a service provider between a telephony device and an element of an Internet protocol (IP) telephony system;

establishing a second communications channel through the network of the service provider between the telephony device and an element of the IP telephony system, wherein at least one or more of a first endpoint and a second endpoint of the first communications channel has at least one or more of an IP address and port number that differs from a corresponding endpoint of the second communication channel;

receiving what was sent by the telephony device as a first sub-stream of a stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication from the element of the IP telephony system over the first communications channel;

receiving what was sent by the telephony device as a second sub-stream of the stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication from the element of the IP telephony system over the second communications channel; and

combining the first and second sub-streams to re-create the stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel through a first port of a data network interface device, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel through a second port of the data network interface device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first port of a data network interface device and a first port of an element of an IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second port of the data network interface device and a second port of the element of the IP telephony system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first port of a data network interface device and a first element of an IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second port of the data network interface device and a second element of the IP telephony system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first data network interface device and an element of the IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second data network interface device and an element of the IP telephony system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first data network interface device and a first port of an element of the IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second data network interface device and a second port of the element of the IP telephony system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first data network interface device and a first element of the IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second data network interface device and a second element of the IP telephony system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first IP address and an element of the IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second IP address and an element of the IP telephony system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first IP address and the second IP address are both assigned to the telephony device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first IP address is assigned to a first data network interface device and wherein the second IP address is assigned to a second network interface device, and wherein the telephony device is in communication with both the first and second data network interface devices.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second data network interface devices are both wireless access points.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first IP address is associated with a first cellular data channel connection and wherein the second IP address is associated with a second cellular data channel.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the first IP address is associated with a cellular data channel connection and wherein the second IP address is associated with a data network interface device.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the telephony device comprises a first telephony device, wherein the first IP address is associated with a first data network interface device that is in communication with the first telephony device, and wherein the second IP address is associated with at least one or more of a second telephony device and a data network interface device that is in communication with the second telephony device.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the telephony device comprises a first telephony device, wherein the first IP address is associated with a first data network interface device that is in communication with at least one or more of a second telephony device and a data network interface device that is in communication with the second telephony device, and wherein the second IP address is associated with at least one or more of a third telephony device and a second data network interface device that is in communication with the third telephony device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first IP address and a first port of an element of the IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second IP address and a second port of the element of the IP telephony system.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the first communications channel comprises establishing the first communications channel between a first IP address and a first element of the IP telephony system, and wherein the establishing the second communications channel comprises establishing the second communications channel between a second IP address and a second element of the IP telephony system.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the first sub-stream over the first communications channel comprises receiving the first sub-stream at a first bit transmission rate, and wherein the receiving the second sub-stream over the second communications channel comprises receiving the second sub-stream at a second bit transmission rate.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first and second bit transmission rates vary over time.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first and second bit transmission rates randomly vary over time.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the first and second bit transmission rates vary over time, and wherein the first bit transmission rate varies in a different fashion than the second bit transmission rate.

22. A system for communicating data packets bearing the media of a telephony communication, comprising:

a first communication device for establishing a first communications channel through a network of a service provider between a telephony device and an element of an Internet protocol (IP) telephony system;

a second communication device for establishing a second communications channel through the network of the service provider between the telephony device and an element of the IP telephony system, wherein at least one or more of a first endpoint and a second endpoint of the first communications channel has at least one or more of an IP address and port number that differs from a corresponding endpoint of the second communication channel;

a receiving device configured to;

receive what was sent by the telephony device as a first sub-stream of a stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication from the element of the IP telephony system over the first communications channel;

receive what was sent by the telephony device as a second sub-stream of the stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication from the element of the IP telephony system over the second communications channel; and

a stream re-creation device for combining the first and second sub-streams to re-create the stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a telephony device, cause the telephony device to perform a method of communicating data packets bearing media of a telephony communication, the method comprising:

establishing a first communications channel through a network of a service provider between a telephony device and an element of an Internet protocol (IP) telephony system;

establishing a second communications channel through the network of the service provider between the telephony device and an element of the IP telephony system, wherein at least one or more of a first endpoint and a second endpoint of the first communications channel has at least one or more of an IP address and port number that differs from a corresponding endpoint of the second communication channel;

receiving what was sent by the telephony device as a first sub-stream of a stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication from the element of the IP telephony system over the first communications channel;

receiving what was sent by the telephony device as a second sub-stream of the stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication from the element of the IP telephony system over the second communications channel; and

combining the first and second sub-streams to re-create the stream of data packets bearing the media of the telephony communication.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein the receiving the first sub-stream over the first communications channel comprises receiving the first sub-stream at a first bit transmission rate, and wherein the receiving the second sub-stream over the second communications channel comprises receiving the second sub-stream at a second bit transmission rate.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the first and second bit transmission rates vary over time.

26. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the first and second bit transmission rates randomly vary over time.

27. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the first and second bit transmission rates vary over time, and wherein the first bit transmission rate varies in a different fashion than the second bit transmission rate.