Keep-Alive Message Inhibition for NAT Pinhole Binding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for maintaining network communications through boundary devices like NATs and firewalls are inefficient, requiring frequent keep-alive messages that consume network resources and battery power, especially in mobile networks with limited IPv4 addresses.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that transmit keep-alive messages with address information indicating they originate from or are destined for a specific communication device, while inhibiting them from traversing certain portions of the communication link, such as wireless links, to maintain pinhole bindings without unnecessary resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If frequent keep-alive messages are transmitted to maintain pinhole bindings through NAT/firewall, then communication link reliability is improved, but network resource consumption and battery power usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic keep-alive messages transmitted at optimized intervals rather than continuously or too frequently. The system determines appropriate time intervals for keep-alive transmissions to maintain pinhole bindings while minimizing energy consumption and network resource usage, balancing reliability requirements with power conservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts parameters of keep-alive messages including transmission intervals, message size, and timing based on network conditions and binding expiration times. By optimizing these parameters, the system maintains communication reliability while reducing the frequency and resource cost of keep-alive transmissions.
2Reliability
If keep-alive messages traverse the full communication link including wireless portions, then binding maintenance is ensured, but bandwidth consumption and billing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes keep-alive messages from traversing certain portions of the communication link, specifically the wireless link portion. Messages are transmitted only through the wired network infrastructure to reach the boundary device, eliminating unnecessary consumption of wireless bandwidth and associated billing resources while still achieving the binding maintenance objective.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses an intermediary approach where keep-alive messages are sent to a network entity or boundary device that can maintain the pinhole binding without requiring the messages to traverse the entire communication path to the end device. This intermediary point suffices for binding maintenance while reducing resource consumption.
3Adaptability or versatility
If device sends outbound packets to create pinhole bindings, then inbound communication capability is enabled, but network resource usage increases for mobile networks with limited IPv4 addresses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the outbound packet serve multiple functions simultaneously: it establishes the pinhole binding for inbound communication and also triggers the creation of the binding in a single action. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate resource-consuming operations while enabling the required adaptability for inbound communication.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for maintaining a communication link through a NAT or other boundary device. Keep-alive messages (keep-alives) are transmitted and received by the boundary device to maintain the link therethrough. Address information of a keep-alive purports that keep-alive has traversed or is to traverse a predetermined portion of the communication link, such as a wireless “over the air” portion. However, the keep-alive is inhibited from traversing the predetermined portion. This may be accomplished by one or more of: spoofing the origin of the keep-alive such that it only appears to have traversed the predetermined portion; and causing the keep-alive to be discarded before traversal of the predetermined portion. Discard may be facilitated by configuration of the TTL field of the keep-alive or by use of a filtering device.