Method and system for data demultiplexing

• US 8,694,683 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2013
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Implicit, LLC (Edward Balassanian)
• Original Assignee: Implicit Networks, Inc. (Edward Balassanian)
• Inventors: Balassanian, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Jungwon
• Application Number:
  US13/911,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20130266025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 306 Days
• Field of Search: 709/230, 709/228, 709/246, 709/238, 370/395.1, 370/469, 370/231, 370/466, 379/207.02, 379/229, 710/33
• US Class Current: 709/246
• 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 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/321 Interlayer communication protocols or service data unit [SDU] definitions; Interfaces between layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and system for demultiplexing packets of a message is provided. The demultiplexing system receives packets of a message, identifies a sequence of message handlers for processing the message, identifies state information associated with the message for each message handler, and invokes the message handlers passing the message and the associated state information. The system identifies the message handlers based on the initial data type of the message and a target data type. The identified message handlers effect the conversion of the data to the target data type through various intermediate data types.

Claims

1. A first apparatus for receiving data from a second apparatus, the first apparatus comprising:

a processing unit; and

a memory storing instructions executable by the processing unit to;

create, based on an identification of information in a received packet of a message, a path that includes one or more data structures that indicate a sequence of routines for processing packets in the message;

store the created path; and

process subsequent packets in the message using the sequence of routines indicated in the stored path, wherein the sequence includes a routine that is used to execute a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to convert one or more packets having a TCP format into a different format.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sequence includes:

a second routine that is used to execute a second, different protocol to convert packets of the different format into another format; and

a third routine that is used to execute a third, different protocol to further convert the packets.

3. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second protocol is an Internet Protocol (IP) and the third protocol is an Ethernet Protocol.

4. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more data structures further indicate sessions corresponding to respective ones of the sequence of routines.

5. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the sessions specify state information for one or more of the sequence of routines, and wherein the state information is specific to the message.

6. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sequence of routines includes a routine that is executable to process the packets without converting a format of the packets.

7. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the routine is not executable to convert packets having the different format, and wherein the different format is an Internet Protocol (IP) format.

8. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processing unit to identify an address associated with the information, wherein the address indicates the routines in the sequence of routines of the created path.

9. The first apparatus of claim 8, wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processing unit to use the address to select the sequence of routines from a plurality of sequences of routines that are stored by the first apparatus prior to receiving the packet of the message.

10. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising software instructions for processing a message, wherein the software instructions, when executed, cause a computer system to:

obtain information from a particular packet of the message, wherein the particular packet has been received by the computer system;

use the obtained information to identify an address specifying a list of conversion routines;

create a path that includes one or more data structures that specify a sequence of sessions, wherein sessions in the sequence correspond to respective ones of the conversion routines in the list;

store the created path; and

process subsequent packets of the message using sessions specified in the created path, including;

a session associated with a transport layer protocol that is executed to convert one or more packets in a transport layer format into a different format; and

another session associated with a different protocol that is executed, wherein the different protocol corresponds to the different format.

11. The medium of claim 10, wherein one or more of the sessions specify state information for one or more of the conversion routines, and wherein the state information is specific to the message.

12. The medium of claim 11, wherein the different protocol is associated with a layer selected from the group consisting of an application layer and a network layer.

13. The medium of claim 10, wherein the transport layer protocol is a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).

14. The medium of claim 13, wherein the message comprises a stream of data.

15. The medium of claim 10, wherein using the obtained information to identify the address includes determining a plurality of protocols by analyzing headers of the particular packet, and wherein the medium includes software instructions executable to determine protocols executable at the transport layer and at an application layer.

16. A first apparatus configured to receive data from a second apparatus, the first apparatus comprising:

a processing unit; and

memory storing instructions that are executable by the processing unit to;

obtain and analyze information from a received packet of a message;

identify an address based on the obtained information, wherein the address references a list of routines;

create one or more data structures that indicate state information corresponding to routines in the list;

store the one or more data structures; and

process subsequent packets of the message using the state information, including state information that corresponds to a particular routine that is used to execute a protocol to convert packets from an input format to an output format, wherein the particular routine is not executable to convert packets having the output format.

17. The first apparatus of claim 16, wherein the state information used to process subsequent packets of the message includes state information that corresponds to a different routine that is used to execute a second, different protocol to convert packets from the output format to a different output format, and wherein the state information used to process subsequent packets of the message includes state information that corresponds to another routine that is used to execute a third, different protocol associated with the different output format.

18. The first apparatus of claim 17, wherein the protocols include a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), an Internet Protocol (IP), and an Ethernet Protocol.

19. The first apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least one of the routines in the list is executable to process packets of the message without converting a format of the packets.

20. The first apparatus of claim 16, wherein the particular routine is executable to convert packets by removing an outermost header of the packets.

21. The first apparatus of claim 16, wherein the protocol is a transport layer protocol.

22. The first apparatus of claim 21, wherein the transport layer protocol is a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and wherein the message comprises a stream of data.

23. The first apparatus of claim 16, wherein the obtained information includes information from headers of the received packet that are associated with a network layer and a transport layer.

24. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising program instructions executable by a computer system to:

identify information from different headers associated with various layers of a received packet of a message;

create, using the identified information, one or more data structures that reference a sequence of routines;

store the one or more data structures; and

process subsequent packets of the message using the sequence of routines referenced by the one or more data structures, including by removing an outermost header of a given packet using a first routine corresponding to a protocol in a first layer and by removing the resulting outermost header using a second routine corresponding to a different protocol in a different layer.

25. The medium of claim 24, wherein the protocol in the first layer is a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and the message comprises a stream of data.

26. The medium of claim 24, wherein the protocol in the first layer is a transport layer protocol and the different protocol in the different layer is an application layer protocol.

27. The medium of claim 24, wherein processing subsequent packets of the message further includes using a third routine corresponding to another protocol in another layer to remove the outermost header resulting from use of the second routine, and wherein the layers include a network layer, a transport layer, and an application layer.

28. The medium of claim 24, wherein at least one of the sequence of routines is not used to remove a header of the packets.

29. The medium of claim 24, wherein the outermost header has a format that is incompatible with a format of the resulting outermost header, and wherein the outermost header is associated with a network layer protocol.

30. The medium of claim 24, wherein the one or more data structures further reference state information for one or more of the routines in the sequence of routines.