Distributed Snoop PEPs for Network Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data communication networks face challenges in efficiently handling network congestion, particularly in wireless environments, where data packet losses can be caused by fading, attenuation, and collisions, leading to incorrect interpretations of congestion and subsequent underutilization of channels.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of Distributed Snoop Performance Enhancing Proxies, which split proxy functionality into Forwarder Nodes and Controller Nodes, allowing for distributed data packet retransmission processing across multiple paths, even in non-symmetric network topologies, to ensure efficient data packet delivery and acknowledgement handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data transmission uses multiple communication paths through intermediate nodes, then network reliability and loss recovery are improved, but device complexity and coordination overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the retransmission processing function into separate components: a retransmission decision maker that determines when retransmission is needed, and retransmission agents that actually perform the retransmission. This segmentation allows multiple paths to be managed independently, improving reliability while reducing the complexity burden on any single node.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces performance enhancing proxies (PEPs) as intermediary nodes between the source and destination. These PEPs act as mediators that monitor packets, make retransmission decisions, and coordinate retransmission across multiple paths, thereby improving network reliability without requiring complex direct coordination between all nodes.
2Reliability
If performance enhancing proxies store and retransmit data packets, then data loss is reduced, but loss of information and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial retransmission only when necessary, rather than storing all packets indefinitely. The PEPs track which packets need retransmission based on missing acknowledgments, and only store/retransmit those specific packets. This partial action approach improves reliability while minimizing information management overhead and storage requirements.
3Reliability
If retransmission processing is performed at intermediate nodes, then data packet delivery is improved, but processing time and network latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary actions by having PEPs proactively monitor data packets and track their transmission status before retransmission becomes necessary. This allows the system to prepare for potential retransmission by maintaining packet state information, reducing the time needed when retransmission must occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the retransmission decision-making function from the data packet processing path and places it in a separate retransmission decision maker. This extraction allows faster packet forwarding while maintaining reliability, as the decision logic is separated from the time-sensitive data transmission path.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and computer program products for performing retransmission of data packets over a network. A node receives a data packet with a source and a destination address. The data packet is sent along a network path to the destination address, and information associated with the data packet is sent to a controller node that is independent of the network path. A controller receives information associated with a data packet from any forwarder node within a plurality of forwarder nodes each monitoring communications along separate communications paths. An indication of a receipt acknowledgement for the data packet is received from a second forwarder node that is separate from the first forwarder node and the controller node. The receipt acknowledgement is correlated with the data packet and based on the correlating, data associated with retransmission processing of the data packet is deleted.