Method of receiving a data packet in an IPv6 domain, an associated device and an associated home gateway

• US 8,451,845 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2009
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monarch Networking Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Grimault, Jean-Luc, Boucadair, Mohamed
• Primary Examiner(s): CHO, HONG SOL
• Application Number:
  US13/001,907
• Publication Number:
  US 20110110375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• Field of Search: 370/389, 370/392, 370/393, 370/401, 370/466
• US Class Current: 370/393
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/659 Internet protocol version 6 [IPv6] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/251 between different IP versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2517 using port numbers

Abstract

A method of receiving an IPv6 data packet in an IPv6 domain connected to an IPv4 domain, said packet comprising an IPv6 destination address and an IPv6 source address. The method comprises the following steps: identifying an IPv6 destination address constructed by concatenating an operator prefix, an IPv4 destination address, and a destination port number; if necessary, regularizing at least one address of the data packet and modifying the data packet; and routing the modified data packet to its destination.

Claims

1. A method for receiving an IPv6 data packet in an IPv6 domain connected to an IPv4 domain, said packet comprising an IPv6 destination address and an IPv6 source address, said method being executed in a home gateway adapted to connect a user terminal to said IPv6 domain, and comprising the following steps:

identifying an IPv6 destination address constructed by concatenating an IPv6 prefix, an IPv4 destination address and a destination port number;

if necessary, regularizing at least one of the IPv6 source address and the IPv6 destination address of the data packet by replacing said at least one IPv6 address, the replacement process belonging to a group comprising replacement of a constructed address with a native address and replacement of a native address with a constructed address, and modifying the data packet using the regularized address; and

routing the modified data packet to its destination.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the data packet comes from said user terminal and goes to the IPv4 domain, the step of regularizing the source address further comprises the following steps:

identifying an IPv6 native source address;

creating an entry in an address translation table, said entry associating said native source address with a source address constructed by concatenating an IPv6 prefix, an IPv4 address assigned to the gateway, and a source port number belonging to a range of port numbers authorized for said gateway; and

replacing the native source address of the data packet with the constructed source address.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein address identification uses an identifier contained in the destination address.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a step of verifying that the source port number of the data packet and the source port number of the constructed source address match.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the data packet comes from the IPv4 domain and goes to said user terminal, the step of regularizing the destination address comprises the following steps:

searching an address translation table of the gateway for an entry associating with said constructed destination address a native destination address;

if an entry is found, replacing the constructed destination address of the data packet with the native destination address from that entry.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising a step of verifying that the destination port number of the data packet and the destination port number contained in the constructed destination address match.

7. A non-transitory computer program product that is at least one of downloadable from a communications network and stored on a computer-readable medium and executable by a microprocessor, comprising program code instructions for executing the method according to claim 1 of receiving a data packet in an IPv6 domain.

8. A device for receiving an IPv6 data packet in an IPv6 domain connected to an IPv4 domain, said packet comprising an IPv6 destination address and an IPv6 source address, said device for use in a home gateway adapted to connect a user terminal to said IPv6 domain, comprising:

means for identifying an IPv6 destination address constructed by concatenating an IPv6 prefix, an IPv4 destination address, and a destination port number;

means for regularizing, if necessary, at least one of the IPv6 source address and the IPv6 destination address of the data packet by replacing said at least one IPv6 address, the replacement process belonging to a group comprising replacement of a constructed address with a native address and replacement of a native address with a constructed address, and modifying the data packet using the regularized address; and

means for routing the modified data packet to its destination.

9. A home gateway adapted to connect user terminals of a home network to an IPv6 domain connected to an IPv4 domain, comprising:

means for obtaining an IPv4 address, a range of port numbers authorized for said gateway, and a range of IPv6 addresses authorized for said gateway, said range of IPv6 addresses being constructed by concatenating an IPv6 prefix, said IPv4 address, and the range of authorized IPv4 port numbers; and

a device according to claim 8 for receiving an IPv6 data packet in the IPv6 domain connected to the IPv4 domain.

10. A home gateway according to claim 9, comprising an address translation table containing entries associating at least one source address for a communications session involving a user terminal of its home network, wherein said gateway is adapted to store in said entry an IPv6 constructed source address and an IPv6 native source address.