End-to-end bidirectional keep-alive using virtual circuits
US6538988B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 18, 2001 |
| Grant date | Mar 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 1, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L2012/5627
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention provides a method and system for sending and receiving end-to-end bidirectional keep-alive messages using virtual circuits. Nodes coupled to a network, such as a frame relay network, periodically exchange link-layer “keep-alive” messages which indicate information regarding configuration and status of the virtual circuit, as well as information regarding congestion at sending nodes. Nodes respond to received keep-alive messages, or to timed-out failure to receive keep-alive messages, with follow-on actions, such as attempting to reconnect when a virtual circuit fails. Keep-alive messages may be propagated across multiple networks of either similar or different architecture. Keep-alive messages include sent and received sequence numbers, thus providing receiving nodes with a technique for determining if any keep-alive messages have been lost. Keep-alive messages can also include information regarding configuration of the virtual circuit, status of the virtual circuit (including counts of recent keep-alive message failure or success), and congestion at the sending node.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.