DNS server, gateways and methods for managing an identifier of a port range in the transmission of data

• US 9,602,333 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2011
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Grimault, Jean-Luc, Kassi Lahlou, Mohammed
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hua
• Application Number:
  US13/637,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20130013739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,191 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/245
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/663 Transport layer addresses, e.g. aspects of transmission control protocol [TCP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] ports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/695 using masks or ranges of addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2517 using port numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/255 Maintenance or indexing of mapping tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]

Abstract

A DNS server (110) and to a method of managing a DNS request, the method comprising receiving (E2) a DNS request for accessing a remote application (104B) accessible via a gateway (106B) and sending (E3) a DNS response including the IP address of the gateway (106B), the method further comprising a verification for determining whether a port range identifier is stored in the DNS server (110) in association with the IP address of the gateway (106B), and if so, the identifier is inserted in the DNS response before sending the DNS response. The invention also provides a method of transmitting data from a first gateway (106A) to a second gateway (106B), a method of transmitting data from a gateway (106B) to a server (102B) of a local network (LAN_B), and the gateways (106A, 106B) for performing such methods.

Claims

1. A method of managing a DNS request carried out by a DNS server, said method comprising:

receiving a DNS request from a first gateway in order to access a remote application accessible via a second gateway, the first gateway and the second gateway each being allocated a shared IP address which is shared with at least one client device to which the shared IP address is allocated and a range of a plurality of ports for the shared IP address;

sending to the first gateway a DNS response including the shared IP address of said second gateway;

a verification step for determining whether a port range identifier, identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to said second gateway, is stored in said DNS server in association with the shared IP address of said second gateway; and

inserting said identifier in the DNS response before sending said DNS response to the first gateway if the port range identifier, identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to said second gateway, is stored in said DNS server in association with the shared IP address of said second gateway.

2. A computer program stored in a computer memory and including instructions for executing steps of the method of managing a DNS request according to claim 1 when said program is executed by a computer.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program including instructions for executing steps of the method of managing a DNS request according to claim 1.

4. A method of transmitting data in a first gateway to a second gateway, said method comprising:

sending a DNS request to a DNS server from the first gateway to access a remote application accessible via the second gateway, the first gateway and the second gateway each being allocated a shared IP address which is shared with at least one client device to which the shared IP address is allocated and a range of a plurality of ports for the shared IP address;

receiving from the DNS server a DNS response including the shared IP address of the second gateway and a port range identifier identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to the second gateway;

storing in the first gateway the port range identifier and the shared IP address associated with the second gateway to which said data is to be transmitted, said port range identifier being obtained from the DNS server in response to the DNS request;

determining, using said port range identifier, a destination port number of the second gateway to which the data is to be transmitted; and

sending said data to said destination port number of the second gateway.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the determination step further comprises:

when a destination port number is initially included in said data, acting during the determining step to determine the destination port number of the second gateway to which the data is to be transmitted from the port range identifier and from the initial destination port number, and replacing the initial destination port number with said destination port number determined during the determining step;

or

when no destination port number is initially included in said data, encapsulating said data in a data packet including the destination port as determined during said determining step.

6. The method according to claim 4, said method further including transmitting together with said data a source port number determined from a port range identifier associated with the first gateway, said port range identifier being stored in said first gateway.

7. A computer program stored in a computer memory and including instructions for executing steps of the data transmission method according to claim 4 when said program is stored in a computer memory and executed by a computer.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program including instructions for executing steps of the data transmission method according to claim 4.

9. A method of transmitting a first data packet from a second gateway to a server of a local network accessible via said second gateway,

said method comprising:

sending a DNS request to a DNS server from a first gateway to access a remote application accessible via the second gateway, the first gateway and the second gateway each being allocated a shared IP address which is shared with at least one client device to which the shared IP address is allocated and a range of a plurality of ports for the shared IP address;

receiving from the DNS server a DNS response including the shared IP address of the second gateway and a port range identifier identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to the second gateway;

storing in the first gateway the port range identifier and the shared IP address associated with the second gateway to which the first data packet is to be transmitted, said port range identifier being obtained from the DNS server in response to the DNS request;

determining, using said port range identifier, a destination port number of the second gateway to which the first data packet is to be transmitted;

sending said first data packet to said destination port number of the second gateway;

storing the port range identifier of a port range associated with said second gateway;

determining, using said port range identifier and a destination port number initially included in the first data packet, the destination port number of the server to which said first data packet is to be transmitted; and

sending said first data packet to said destination port number of the server.

10. The method according to claim 9, said method further comprising:

said second gateway receiving a second data packet sent by the server in response to said first data packet;

determining, using said port range identifier, a source port number for transmitting with said second data packet; and

sending the second data packet from said source port number.

11. A computer program stored in a computer memory and including instructions for executing steps of the data transmission method according to claim 9 when said program is executed by a computer.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program including instructions for executing steps of the data transmission method according to claim 9.

13. A DNS server, comprising a processor and memory, configured to process a DNS request, said processor and memory being configured to execute code to perform the following steps:

receiving a DNS request to access a remote application accessible via a gateway having a shared IP address which is shared with at least one client device to which the shared IP address is allocated and an allocated range of a plurality of ports for the shared IP address;

sending a DNS response including the shared IP address of said gateway;

determining whether a port range identifier, identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to said gateway, is stored in said DNS server in association with the shared IP address of said gateway; and

inserting said port range identifier into the DNS response before sending said DNS response when the result of said determination is positive.

14. A gateway, comprising:

a processor; and

memory;

wherein said gateway is configured to transmit data to a second gateway via a data transmission method comprising;

sending a DNS request to a DNS server from the gateway to access a remote application accessible via the second gateway, the gateway and the second gateway each being allocated a shared IP address which is shared with at least one client device to which the shared IP address is allocated and a range of a plurality of ports for the shared IP address;

receiving from the DNS server a DNS response including the shared IP address of the second gateway and a port range identifier identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to the second gateway;

storing in the gateway the port range identifier and the shared IP address associated with the second gateway to which said data is to be transmitted, said port range identifier being obtained from the DNS server in response to the DNS request;

determining, using said port range identifier, a destination port number of the second gateway to which the data is to be transmitted; and

sending said data to said destination port number of the second gateway;

wherein said processor and memory are configured to execute code to perform the following steps;

using a port range identifier associated with the shared IP address of the second gateway to determine a destination port number to which the data is to be transmitted; and

sending said data to said destination port number.

15. A gateway, comprising:

a processor; and

memory;

wherein the gateway is configured to transmit data to a server of a local network accessible via said gateway via a data transmission method comprising;

sending a DNS request to a DNS server from the gateway to access a remote application accessible via a second gateway, the gateway and the second gateway each being allocated a shared IP address which is shared with at least one client device to which the shared IP address is allocated and a range of a plurality of ports for the shared IP address;

receiving from the DNS server a DNS response including the shared IP address of the second gateway and a port range identifier identifying the range of the plurality of ports allocated to the second gateway;

storing in the gateway the port range identifier and the shared IP address associated with the second gateway to which the data is to be transmitted, said port range identifier being obtained from the DNS server in response to the DNS request;

determining, using said port range identifier, a destination port number of the second gateway to which the data is to be transmitted;

sending said data to said destination port number of the second gateway;

storing the port range identifier of a port range associated with said second gateway;

determining, using said port range identifier and a destination port number initially included in the data, the destination port number of the server to which said data is to be transmitted; and

sending said data to said destination port number of the server;

wherein said processor and memory are configured to execute code to perform the following steps;

storing a port range identifier associated with said gateway;

using said identifier to determine the destination port number of the server to which the data is to be transmitted; and

sending said data to said destination port number.