Patent · US Expired

Secure distribution and use of weighted network topology information

US6185612A · kind A · utility

94Cited by
17References
29Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 29, 1998
Grant dateFeb 6, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 29, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L63/104
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Methods, systems, signals, and devices are provided for managing and using topology information in a network. A topology information manager keeps fragments of network topology and provides access to entire fragments or to fragment summaries in response to authenticated requests. An authenticated path selector uses topology information from the manager to select message routes. The path selector may use summaries of hidden network paths to determine whether the hidden path is desirable, without having access to all topological information about the hidden path. Messages may be forwarded over hidden paths by the manager without disclosing more than the summary information to the message provider.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.