IP Address Resolution for Heterogeneous Network Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for interconnecting wireless local area networks with wide area networks based on heterogeneous communication protocols face challenges in achieving bidirectional communication, as they often rely on proprietary and complex solutions that are limited to unilateral data transmission, making it difficult to identify and communicate with devices using different protocols.
Innovation Solution
A method for resolving IP addresses by receiving a MAC address, looking it up in a data structure, and transmitting the corresponding IP address, which can also retrieve additional information like port numbers or communication protocols, utilizing a conventional DNS server to alter its functionality for bidirectional communication between devices with heterogeneous protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If proprietary and integrated solutions are used for interconnecting wireless local area networks with wide area networks, then communication between heterogeneous protocols is achieved, but device complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary device that bridges wireless local area networks (using protocols like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee) and wide area networks (using IP-based protocols). The gateway performs protocol translation and address resolution, allowing devices on different networks to communicate without requiring complex proprietary solutions at each endpoint. The gateway maintains a mapping between local addresses (MAC addresses, device identifiers) and global addresses (IP addresses), enabling seamless communication between heterogeneous protocols while keeping individual devices simple.
2Productivity
If unilateral communication solutions are implemented where local devices send data to remote servers, then data transmission from local area network to wide area network is achieved, but bidirectional communication capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements bidirectional communication by establishing feedback mechanisms. When a remote server needs to respond to a local device, the gateway captures the response, looks up the original local device using the stored address mapping, and forwards the response back to the correct local device. This feedback loop enables full duplex communication where both local area network devices and wide area network servers can initiate and receive communications, transforming unilateral data transmission into bidirectional communication.
3Measurement precision
If address resolution is performed using conventional methods, then IP address identification is achieved, but the ability to identify devices on heterogeneous networks is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the functionality of conventional address resolution protocols (like ARP and DNS) to handle heterogeneous network addressing. The gateway implements a universal address resolution mechanism that can resolve multiple types of addresses (MAC addresses, device identifiers, hostnames) to IP addresses and vice versa. This multi-functional address resolution system allows the gateway to identify and route communications between devices on different network types using their native addressing schemes while translating to the appropriate IP addresses for wide area network communication.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for resolving an IP address, includes a step of receiving an address resolution request, the request including a datum representative of a MAC address; a step of looking up, within a data structure, an IP address, depending on the datum representative of a MAC address; and a step of transmitting said IP address.