Abstract:
A unified architecture for enabling remote access to a network is provided. The network may comprise, as examples, a virtual private network (VPN) and/or a peer-to-peer network. In one embodiment, the architecture includes components installed on a client device/node and a gateway/supernode. Components implemented on the client device may facilitate access in a manner similar to that of a traditional VPN, while components on the gateway may facilitate access in a manner similar to an application proxy. Communication between the client device and gateway may occur, as an example, via a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communication protocol.
Abstract:
A method for providing an interface to a Bluetooth compliant device can emulate a modem such that computer software programs can communicate through the Bluetooth compliant device in the same manner in which they would communicate through a standard modem to access a dial-up, wide area network. The method also supports an interface to a Bluetooth compliant device which can emulate a network socket such that computer software programs can communicate through the Bluetooth compliant device seemingly in the same manner in which they would communicate through a standard network interface card to access a local area network. The method also allows for the interface to a Bluetooth compliant device to be dependent on the nature of the Bluetooth compliant device.
Abstract:
Filtering data packets in a manner that promotes efficient flow of data through a communication path. A filter stack includes one or more filter instances that may filter data packets that pass through the filter stack. The filter stack is associated with one or more protocol stacks that function in communication paths between a computing device and a network. When filtering instances are inserted to or removed from a filter stack, associated protocol stacks may remain capable of transferring data. An abstract interface facilitates inserting and removing filter instances by passing data to filter drivers that create filter instances. A filter driver may create multiple filter instances. Filtering operations associated with filter instances may be bypassed based on the direction of data flow, control flow, and characteristics of packets.
Abstract:
The invention allows applications to transparently use a bus, such as the IEEE-1394 serial bus, as if it were an Ethernet (IEEE 802.3). In a conventional Ethernet, each node is assigned a unique 6-byte MAC address in order to receive frames addressed to it over the LAN. According to the invention, IEEE-1394 bus node identifiers are mapped to Ethernet MAC addresses using for example a digital signature algorithm. Ethernet frames are then “wrapped” into 1394 bus packets and addressed to the destination node using the hashed address. The receiver unwraps the 1394 packet and restores the Ethernet frame to its original form. An optimum packet size for transmission of Ethernet packets over the 1394 bus is selected with reference to speed topology maps in the 1394 bus nodes, and this optimum size is transmitted to bus nodes. This packet size is reported to TCP to specify the packet size, and all packets larger than that size are fragmented and reassembled at the receiving node. The protocol works transparently across networks that are linked via bridges.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus provides a method and apparatus for treating a serial bus, such as an IEEE 1394 bus, as a connection-oriented network. In one embodiment, an application programming interface (API) permits different protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, IPX, and others) to connect to the 1394 bus and to make use of various 1394 features, such as isochronous packet transmission, without knowledge of hardware-specific idiosyncrasies. A call is made to set up a connection (a “virtual circuit”) over the serial bus, and, thereafter, a connection “handle” is used to communicate over the bus using the connection. Different types of connections can be provided, including a node-specific connection; a channel-specific connection; and a receiving connection (e.g., for incoming data). In one embodiment, a programming interface hides details of the connection set-up, and includes packet fragmentation and reassembly functions. Because multiple protocols can share common communication facilities, code re-use is maximized.