Address translator, message processing method and equipment

• US 7,761,597 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2002
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Inouchi, Hidenori, Takeda, Yukiko
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US10/081,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20030110292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,067 Days
• Field of Search: 709/245, 709/201, 709/228, 370/389, 370/401
• US Class Current: 709/245
• 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 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/251 between different IP versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2564 for a higher-layer protocol, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• 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 61/2585 through application level gateway [ALG]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/167 Adaptation for transition between two IP versions, e.g. between IPv4 and IPv6 translation of Internet protocol [IP] addresses H04L61/2503
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An address translator includes an SIP message detecting function. Upon detection of an SIP message, the address translator sends the SIP message to an SIP address translator. The SIP address translator extracts addresses for translation, and makes a query to the address translator. The SIP address translator translates an IP address included in the SIP message, using translation information of the address translator. Thus, an SIP communication is accomplished between terminals belonging to different regions in association of the address translator and the SIP address translator.

Claims

1. An address translator to be coupled to a first network conforming to a first addressing system, and to be coupled to a second network conforming to a second addressing system, said address translator comprising:

a processor;

an address translating unit which translates, in a Layer 3 region of communication data, a Layer 3 address of the first addressing system into a Layer 3 address of the second addressing system, or translates, in a Layer 3 region of communication data, a Layer 3 address of the second addressing system into a Layer 3 address of the first addressing system;

a detecting unit which detects that the communication data conforms to a particular protocol based on a port number contained in a header corresponding to a Layer 4 region of the communication data; and

a creating unit which creates translation information including a correspondence relationship between the Layer 3 address of the first addressing system and the Layer 3 address of the second addressing system for translating a Layer 3 address contained in a region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region, when the detecting unit detects that the communication data conforms to the particular protocol,

wherein the address translator further comprises a communication function for communicating with a server device,

wherein said address translator sends said translation information and the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region to said server device, and receives information including said Layer 3 address described in the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region which has been translated by said server device, and

wherein at least a portion of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region is described by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and includes the Layer 3 address.

2. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein said region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region comprises a parameter which requires translation of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region.

3. The address translator according to claim 2, wherein said address translator sends the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region with a tag added to said parameter by said address translator,

wherein said server device extracts the parameter which requires the translation from the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region based on said tag which requires the translation of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region.

4. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein in case of that the first addressing system is Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), the second addressing system is Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), and

wherein in case of that the first addressing system is IPv6 and the second addressing system is IPv4.

5. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein the port number is described in a Transport layer as Layer 4.

6. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein the port number is described by Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as Layer 4.

7. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein the port number is described by User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as Layer 4.

8. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein the port number is an identifier indicating that the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region is described by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

9. The address translator according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region is described by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and includes the Layer 3 address.

10. An address translating system comprising:

an address translator, which is connected to a first network conforming to a first address system and a second network conforming to a second addressing system; and

a server device,

wherein the address translator comprises;

a processor;

an address translating unit which translates, in a Layer 3 region of communication data, a Layer 3 address of the first addressing system into a Layer 3 address of the second addressing system, or translates, in a Layer 3 region of communication data, a Layer 3 address of the second addressing system into a Layer 3 address of the first addressing system; and

a detecting unit which detects that the communication data conforms to a particular protocol based on a port number contained in a header corresponding to a Layer 4 region of the communication data; and

a creating unit which creates translation information including a correspondence relationship between the Layer 3 address of the first addressing system and the Layer 3 address of the second addressing system for translating a Layer 3 address contained in a region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region, when the detecting means detects that the communication data conforms to the particular protocol,

wherein the address translator further comprises a communication function for communicating with the server device,

wherein the address translator sends the translation information and the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region to the server device, and receives information including the Layer 3 address described in the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region which has been translated by the server device, and

wherein at least a portion of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region is described by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and includes the Layer 3 address.

11. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the server device receives the translation information and the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region from the address translator, and translates the Layer 3 address conforming to the first addressing system described in the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region to a Layer 3 address conforming to the second addressing system based on the translation information, and sends information including the Layer 3 address described in the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region which has been translated by the server device.

12. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region, which is sent from the address translator to the server device, comprises:

a parameter which requires translation of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region of the communication data.

13. The address translating system according to claim 12, wherein the address translator sends the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region with a tag added to the parameter which requires the translation of the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region,

wherein the server device extracts the parameter which requires the translation from the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region based on the tag.

14. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein in the case of that the first addressing system is Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), the second addressing system is Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), and

wherein in the case of that the first addressing system is IPv6, the second addressing system is IPv4.

15. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the particular protocol is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

16. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the port number is described in a Transport layer as Layer 4.

17. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the port number is described by Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as Layer 4.

18. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the port number is described by User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as Layer 4.

19. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the port number is an identifier indicating that the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region is described by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

20. The address translating system according to claim 10, wherein the server device includes a processing part for translating the Layer 3 address described in the region of the communication data higher than the Layer 3 region.