System and method for reducing bandwidth usage of a network

• US 9,590,913 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2015
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adaptiv Networks Inc.
• Original Assignee: LiveQoS Inc. (Adaptiv Networks Inc.)
• Inventors: Williams, Matthew Robert, Nebogatov, Yuri, Klemetti, Miika Anttoni
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shih, Albert
• Application Number:
  US14/606,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20150138983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 370/325
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2466 using signalling traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/27 Evaluation or update of window size, e.g. using information derived from acknowledged [ACK] packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/323 Discarding or blocking control packets, e.g. ACK packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/40 using split connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0273 adapting protocols for flow control or congestion control to wireless environment, e.g. adapting transmission control protocol [TCP] wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation, e.g. wireless application protocol H04W80/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/06 Transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP [Transport Control Protocol] over wireless transmission control protocol/Internet protocol [TCP/IP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16

Abstract

A method of reducing the bandwidth usage of a network comprises intercepting traffic between a TCP server and a TCP client using TCP protocols that use client acknowledgements; identifying client acknowledgements from the TCP protocols; identifying the sequence number of a last received client acknowledgements from the intercepted traffic; identifying the sequence number of a last sent client acknowledgement from the intercepted traffic; calculating an unacknowledged byte value based on the difference between the last received client acknowledgement sequence number and the last sent client acknowledgement sequence number; comparing the calculated unacknowledged byte value with a predetermined threshold value, to determine whether the calculated unacknowledged byte value is at least as great as the predetermined threshold value; and transmitting the identified client acknowledgements into the network when the compared unacknowledged byte value is at least as great as the predetermined threshold value.

Claims

1. A method of reducing the bandwidth usage of a network, said method comprising:

intercepting traffic between a TCP server and a TCP client using TCP protocols that use client acknowledgements;

identifying client acknowledgements from the TCP protocols;

identifying a first sequence number of a first packet acknowledged by a last received client acknowledgements from the intercepted traffic;

identifying a second sequence number of a second packet acknowledged by a last sent client acknowledgement from the intercepted traffic;

calculating an unacknowledged byte value based on the difference between said first sequence number and said second sequence number;

comparing said calculated unacknowledged byte value with a threshold value, to determine whether said calculated unacknowledged byte value is at least as great as said threshold value; and

transmitting said identified client acknowledgements into the network when said compared unacknowledged byte value is at least as great as said threshold value;

wherein said threshold value is a function of at least one of a measured round trip time and a measured bandwidth delay product.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said intercepting step is performed at an intercepting device located between said TCP server and said TCP client.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said TCP client is one of a plurality of TCP clients.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said TCP server is one of a plurality of TCP servers.

5. A system for reducing the bandwidth usage of a network, said system comprising:

a TCP server and a TCP client using TCP protocols that use client acknowledgments; and

an intercepting network device located between the TCP server and the TCP client and adapted to

receive said client acknowledgements flowing between the TCP server and the TCP client,

identifying a first sequence number of a first packet acknowledged by a last received client acknowledgements from an intercepted traffic;

identifying a second sequence number of a second packet acknowledged by a last sent client acknowledgement from the intercepted traffic;

calculating an unacknowledged byte value based on the difference between said first sequence number and said second sequence number;

comparing said calculated unacknowledged byte value with a threshold value, to determine whether said calculated unacknowledged byte value is at least as great as said threshold value; and

transmitting said identified client acknowledgements into the network when said compared unacknowledged byte value is at least as great as said threshold value;

wherein said threshold value is a function of at least one of a measured round trip time and a measured bandwidth delay product.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said TCP client is one of a plurality of TCP clients.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein said TCP server is one of a plurality of TCP servers.