Reliable connectionless network protocol

Details Reliable connectionless network protocol Reliable connectionless network protocol

1998-01-09

2001-10-30

Zimmerman, Mark (Department: 2671)

Multiplex communications

Communication techniques for information carried in plural...

Adaptive

C370S474000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06310892

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of protocols for a network environment, and more specifically to a reliable connectionless protocol.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1
a
illustrates a prior art protocol for opening a connection in the transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) network environment. The open connection protocol consists of a three way handshake. For the example illustrated in
FIG. 1
a
, the open connection is between “node
1
” and “node
2
”. In order to initiate the open connection, node
1
sends a segment having the SYN bits set in the code field. The node
2
, in a second segment, sets both the SYN bit and ACK bits. This response by node
2
both acknowledges the first SYN segment as well as continues the handshake protocol with node
1
. However, the second segment does not complete the protocol, but the second segment is a mere acknowledgment that is used to inform node
1
, the initiator, that both sides agree that a connection has been established. In a third segment, the node
1
initiator sends an ACK segment back to node
2
. After the connection has been established, data transfer may commence.
FIG. 1
b
illustrates the prior art protocol for closing a connection in accordance with the TCP/IP networking protocol. The closed connection protocol is a modified three-way handshake. For the example illustrated in
FIG. 1
b
, node
1
initiates closing of the connection. The response from the node after receiving the initial FIN segment for the close connection of TCP/IP protocol is different from the open connection. As shown in
FIG. 1
b
, instead of generating a second FIN segment immediately, node
2
sends an acknowledgment. In response to the initial FIN segment, the network interface informs an application of the request to close the connection. When the application instructs the network interface to close the connection, node
2
sends the second FIN segment, and node
1
replies in a third segment using the ACK segment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A reliable connectionless protocol is used in a networking environment. The reliable connectionless protocol utilizes a one way message protocol in order to maintain reliability without the additional overhead of opening and closing a connection. The network contains a plurality of nodes for transfer of data between a source node and at least one destination node. Each node configured for the message protocol of the present invention contains, in part, a transport layer coupled to at least one application.
In operation, the transport layer receives data for transfer between a source node and a destination node on the network. The transport layer divides the data into predetermined length data packets. The pre-determined length data packets are unrelated to the amount of data for transfer. In addition to generating the data packets, the transport layer generates a segment header for each data packet. The segment header defines an order for the corresponding data packet based on the original data received from the application. In one embodiment, the segment header defines whether the corresponding data packet is the first data packet, an interim data packet, or the last data packet.
The transport layer generates independent segments by combining each data packet with a corresponding segment header. Consequently, each segment, including the first segment and the last segment, contains a data packet. Additional control information is added to transfer the segments over the network. The independent segments are transferred from the source node to the destination node via the network such that each independent segment transfers part of the original data without establishing a connection.
A transport layer on the destination node utilizes the information in the segment header to determine a first segment for the data transfer, thereby allowing the destination node to begin to receive the data. The destination node transport layer extracts the data from the data packets to re-construct the original data. When the destination node receives the last segment, the destination node finishes the re-construction of the original data, and discards the information in the segment header used to re-construct the data.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, and from the detailed description that follows below.


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