World-wide-web server that finds optimal path by sending multiple syn+ack packets to a single client
US6587438B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 1, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/16
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optimal path through the Internet to a client is determined by the server during connection establishment. During the 3-way handshake that establishes a connection, a web server ordinarily sends a single SYN+ACK packet to the client. Instead of sending just one SYN+ACK packet, the server is modified to send multiple SYN+ACK packets, each using a different path to the client. When the multiple SYN+ACK packets are sent from the server at the same time, the first packet that reaches the client used the fastest path through the Internet. The client responds to this first SYN+ACK packet with an ACK packet back to the server. The other SYN+ACK packets that use slower paths arrive at the client after the first SYN+ACK packet and are ignored by the client as being out-of-order. The server includes a different sequence number with each SYN+ACK packet. The client increments this sequence number and includes the incremented sequence number in the ACK packet. The server reads this incremented sequence number in the ACK packet to determine which packet reached the client first. The path used by this packet is then included in source-routing fields of all future packets in the connection.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.