Patent · US Expired

Detecting if a secure link is alive

US6976071B1 · kind B1 · utility

39Cited by
10References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 16, 2000
Grant dateDec 13, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 20, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L2212/00
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A communication system includes a data network that is coupled to various nodes, including routers. In one example arrangement, a first router is part of a first local network and a second router is part of a second local network. Each router includes a security gateway module and a keep-alive module. The security gateway module is capable of establishing a secure link, such as one according to an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) protocol, over the data network. The keep-alive module sends one or more ping messages over the secure link to the remote router (or a node coupled to the router), which responds with appropriate ping replies to indicate that a link is alive.

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