Network address family translation method and system

• US 10,027,586 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2017
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Star2Star Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Star2Star Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Kielhofner, Kristian, Worthington, III, Norman A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Jimmy H
• Application Number:
  US15/401,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20170187620A1
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/14 Routing performance; Theoretical aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/741 Routing in networks with a plurality of addressing schemes, e.g. with both IPv4 and IPv6
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/256 NAT traversal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2585 through application level gateway [ALG]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]

Abstract

The present invention, generally, is directed towards an Internet protocol (IP) address family translation system and method. Such application is directed towards providing the ability to send and receive communications sessions between communication nodes, network edge devices, and the like, using more than one Internet protocol. This application is especially advantageous where communication sessions need to be transferred from one location to a second using the public Internet, i.e., Internet access provided by third-party Internet service providers (ISPs). The present invention, also, provides a translation system and method which may allow a communication node or a network edge device to recognize and interpret communication sessions received over a third-party Internet connection from a device hidden by a third party ISP-provided NAT implementation.

Claims

1. A method for optimizing a communication session through at least one network comprising a series of communication nodes utilizing one or more address families, the method comprising:

receiving at least one session parameter at a communication node within the series of communication nodes indicating initiation of the communication session, the at least one session parameter comprising a first address family, predetermined routing information for routing the communication session through the series of communication nodes, a session criteria, and a session type;

retrieving to the communication node from a local communication node database a list of possible communication nodes containing all possible communication nodes in the at least one network through which the communication session may be routed, wherein the list of possible communication nodes is prioritized based at least in part on a session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes and a session type of each of the possible communication nodes;

identifying at the communication node based on a set of business rules stored at the communication node an optimized communication node from the list of possible communication nodes, wherein the set of business rules is used to analyze the list of possible communication nodes based at least in part on the predetermined routing information of the communication session, the session criteria of the communication session, the session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes, the session type of the communication session, and the session type of each of the possible communication nodes;

determining at the communication node if the optimized communication node receives communication sessions utilizing the first address family of the communication session or a second address family;

modifying at the communication node at least one abstraction layer of the communication session based on the set of business rules by modifying at least one implementation instruction for a set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer to allow transmission of the communication session to the optimized communication node utilizing either of one of the first address family or the second address family; and

modifying the predetermined routing information of the communication session based on the session criteria of the optimized communication node and the session type of the optimized communication node;

wherein the communication session is transmitted from the communication node to the optimized communication node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication node within the series of communication nodes is at least one of an originating node, an intermediary node, and a destination node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first address family comprises at least one of Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first address family or the second address family comprises neither of IPv4 and IPv6.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of possible communication nodes is stored at the communication node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of business rules is determined at the communication node based on at least one of a network condition and a network event.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises a translation at a network layer of a first address family Internet protocol (IP) address to a second address family IP address based on at least one of the set of business rules, a determination the optimized communication node utilizes the second address family, at least one transport layer protocol, and the at least one session parameter.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at a transport layer a user datagram protocol (UDP) by a translation of at least one of a source service port and a destination service port based on at least one of the business rules, the session type of the communication session, and at least one application layer protocol.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one application layer protocol comprises at least one of a real-time transport protocol (RTP) and a session initiation protocol (SIP).

11. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at an application layer a session description protocol (SDP) containing at least one of a communication session announcement, a communication session invitation, and a session parameter negotiation data, wherein the modification at the application layer is based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication session, a translation at a network layer, and a modification at a transport layer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein modification of the application layer occurs when the communication session at the application layer comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer or the modification occurs at a transport layer.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer and the modification occurs at the transport layer.

15. A method for optimizing a communication session through at least one network comprising a series of communication nodes and network edge devices utilizing one or more address families, the method comprising:

receiving at least one session parameter at a network edge device within the series of communication nodes and network edge devices indicating initiation of the communication session, the at least one session parameter comprising a first address family, predetermined routing information for routing the communication session through the series of communication nodes and network edge devices, a session criteria, and a session type;

retrieving to the network edge device from a local communication node database a list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices containing all possible communication nodes and all possible network edge devices in the at least one network through which the communication session may be routed, wherein the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices is prioritized based at least in part on a session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes, a session criteria of each of the possible network edge devices, a session type of each of the possible communication nodes, and a session type of each of the possible network edge devices;

identifying at the network edge device based on a set of business rules stored at the network edge device an optimized communication node or an optimized network edge device from the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices, wherein the set of business rules is used to analyze the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices based at least in part on the predetermined routing information of the communication session, the session criteria of the communication session, the session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes, the session criteria of each of the possible network edge devices, the session type of the communication session, the session type of each of the possible communication nodes, and the session type of each of the possible network edge devices;

determining at the network edge device if the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device receives communication sessions utilizing the first address family of the communication session or a second address family;

modifying at the network edge device at least one abstraction layer of the communication session based on the set of business rules by modifying at least one implementation instruction for a set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer to allow transmission of the communication session to the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device utilizing either of one of the first address family or the second address family; and

modifying the predetermined routing information of the communication session based on either of a session criteria of the optimized communication node and a session type of the optimized communication node or a session criteria of the optimized network edge device and a session type of the optimized network edge device;

wherein the communication session is transmitted from the network edge device to the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the network edge device is at least one of an originating node, an intermediary node, and a destination node.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the network edge device is operatively connected to one or more communication assets for enabling the communication through the at least one network with at least one other communication asset.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the first address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the second address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the first address family or the second address family comprises neither of IPv4 and IPv6.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices is stored at the network edge device.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the set of business rules is determined at the network edge device based on at least one of a network condition and a network event.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises a translation at a network layer of a first address family IP address to a second address family IP address based on at least one of the set of business rules, a determination that the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device utilizes the second address family, at least one transport layer protocol, and the at least one session parameter.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at a transport layer a UDP by a translation of at least one of a source service port and a destination service port based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication session, and at least one application layer protocol.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the at least one application layer protocol comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at an application layer an SDP containing at least one of a communication session announcement, a communication session invitation, and a session parameter negotiation data, wherein the modification at the application layer is based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication session, and a translation at a network layer, and a modification at a transport layer.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein modification of the application layer occurs when the communication session at the application layer comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer or the modification occurs at a transport layer.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer and the modification occurs at the transport layer.

30. A system for optimizing a communications session through at least one network comprising a series of communication nodes utilizing one or more address families, the system comprising:

a local communication node database for storing a list of possible communication nodes in the at least one network through which the communication session may be routed; and

a communication node operatively coupled to the local communication node database and comprising a hardware processor operative to;

receive at least one session parameter at the communication node indicating initiation of the communication session, the at least one session parameter comprising a first address family, predetermined routing information for routing the communication session through the series of communication nodes, a session criteria, and a session type;

retrieve to the communication node from the local communication node database the list of possible communication nodes containing all possible communication nodes in the at least one network through which the communication session may be routed, wherein the list of possible communication nodes is prioritized based at least in part on a session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes and a session type of each of the possible communication nodes;

identify at the communication node based on a set of business rules stored at the communication node an optimized communication node from the list of possible communication nodes, wherein the set of business rules is used to analyze the list of possible communication nodes based at least in part on the predetermined routing information of the communication session, the session criteria of the communication session, the session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes, the session type of the communication session, and the session type of each of possible communication nodes;

determine at the communication node if the optimized communication node receives communication sessions utilizing the first address family of the communication session or a second address family;

modify at the communication node at least one abstraction layer of the communication session based on the set of business rules by modifying at least one implementation instruction for a set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer to allow transmission of the communication session to the optimized communication node utilizing either of one of the first address family or the second address family; and

modify the predetermined routing information of the communication session based on a session criteria of the optimized communication node and a session type of the optimized communication node;

wherein the communication session is transmitted from the communication node to the optimized communication node.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the communication node within the series of communication nodes is at least one of an originating node, an intermediary node, and a destination node.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the first address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the second address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the first address family or the second address family comprises neither of IPv4 and IPv6.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein the list of possible communication nodes is stored at the communication node.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the set of business rules is determined at the communication node based on at least one of a network condition and a network event.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises a translation at a network layer of a first address family IP address to a second address family IP address based on at least one of the set of business rules, a determination the optimized communication node utilizes the second address family, at least one transport layer protocol, and the at least one session parameter.

38. The system of claim 30, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at a transport layer a UDP by translating at least one of a source service port and a destination service port based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication session, and at least one application layer protocol.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the at least one application layer protocol comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

40. The system of claim 30, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at an application layer an SDP containing at least one of a communication session announcement, a communication session invitation, and a session parameter negotiation data, wherein the modification at the application layer is based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication session, and a translation at a network layer, and a modification at a transport layer.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein modification of the application layer occurs when the communication session at the application layer comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer or the modification occurs at a transport layer.

43. The system of claim 40, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer and the modification occurs at the transport layer.

44. A system for optimizing a communications session through at least one network comprising a series of communication nodes and network edge devices utilizing one or more address families, the system comprising:

a local node database for storing a list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices in the at least one network through which the communication session may be routed; and

a network edge device operatively coupled to the local node database and comprising a hardware processor operative to;

receive at least one session parameter at the network edge device indicating initiation of the communication session, the at least one session parameter comprising a first address family, predetermined routing information for routing the communication session through the series of communication nodes and network edge devices, a session criteria, and a session type;

retrieve to the network edge device from the local node database the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices containing all possible communication nodes and all possible network edge devices in the at least one network through which the communication session may be routed, wherein the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices is prioritized based at least in part on a session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes, a session type of each of the possible communication nodes, a session criteria of each of the possible network edge devices, and a session type of each of the possible network edge devices;

identify at the network edge device based on a set of business rules stored at the network edge device an optimized communication node or an optimized network edge device from the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices based at least in part on the predetermined routing information of the communication session, the session criteria of the communication session, the session criteria of each of the possible communication nodes, the session criteria of each of the possible network edge devices, the session type of the communication session, the session type of each of the possible communication nodes, and the session type of each of the possible network edge device;

determine at the network edge device if the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device receives communication sessions utilizing the first address family of the communication session or a second address family;

modify at the network edge device at least one abstraction layer of the communication session based on the set of business rules by modifying at least one implementation instruction for a set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer to allow transmission of the communication session to the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device utilizing either of one of the first address family or the second address family; and

modify the predetermined routing information of the communication session based on either of a session criteria of the optimized communication node and a session type of the optimized communication node or a session criteria of the optimized network edge device and a session type of the optimized network edge device;

wherein the communication session is transmitted from the network edge device to the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the network edge device is at least one of an originating node, an intermediary node, and a destination node.

46. The system of claim 44, wherein the network edge device is operatively connected to one or more communication assets for enabling the communication through the at least one network with at least one other communication asset.

47. The system of claim 44, wherein the first address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

48. The system of claim 44, wherein the second address family comprises at least one of IPv4 and IPv6.

49. The system of claim 44, wherein the first address family or the second address family comprises neither of IPv4 and IPv6.

50. The system of claim 44, wherein the list of possible communication nodes and network edge devices is stored at the network edge device.

51. The system of claim 44, wherein the set of business rules is determined at the network edge device based on at least one of a network condition and a network event.

52. The system of claim 44, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises a translation at a network layer of a first address family IP address to a second address family IP address based on at least one of the set of business rules, a determination the optimized communication node or the optimized network edge device utilizing the second address family, at least one transport layer protocol, and the at least one session parameter.

53. The system of claim 44, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at a transport layer a UDP by a translation of at least one of a source service port and a destination service port based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication, and at least one application layer protocol.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the at least one application layer protocol comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

55. The system of claim 44, wherein modifying the at least one implementation instruction for the set of functionality of the at least one abstraction layer comprises modifying at an application layer an SDP containing at least one of a communication session announcement, a communication session invitation, and a session parameter negotiation data, wherein the modification at the application layer is based on at least one of the set of business rules, the session type of the communication session, and a translation at a network layer, and a modification at a transport layer.

56. The system of claim 55, wherein modification of the application layer occurs when the communication session at the application layer comprises at least one of an RTP and a SIP.

57. The system of claim 55, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer or the modification occurs at a transport layer.

58. The system of claim 55, wherein modification of the application layer occurs if the translation occurs at the network layer and the modification occurs at the transport layer.