SCION-IP Gateway Protocol Interfacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IP-capable devices cannot directly communicate over SCION networks, which limits their ability to leverage path-control and resilience features due to protocol incompatibilities, necessitating a method for interfacing packet switched networks with source-selected path routing systems.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of SCION-IP Gateways (SIGs) that encapsulate IP packets in SCION packets, allowing for path selection and routing without requiring changes to IP hosts or routers, and utilizing gateway devices with forwarding policy engines to manage traffic across multiple paths for optimal performance and resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If IP packets are transmitted directly over SCION networks without gateway devices, then protocol simplicity is maintained, but interoperability between IP and SCION networks is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces gateway devices as intermediary components that translate between IP packet format and SCION packet format. These gateways act as mediators that enable communication between the IP network domain and SCION network domain without requiring changes to existing IP hosts or routers. The gateway device performs protocol conversion, path embedding, and header manipulation to facilitate interoperability while maintaining the simplicity of original IP protocols at endpoint devices.
2Reliability
If source-selected path routing is implemented, then traffic routing control and resilience are improved, but protocol compatibility with existing IP devices deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the networking function into two distinct domains: IP network domain where existing hosts and routers operate with standard IP protocols, and SCION network domain where source-selected path routing provides enhanced reliability. The gateway device performs segmentation by separating protocol conversion functions from endpoint devices, allowing IP devices to remain simple while SCION infrastructure provides resilience through path control and diversity.
Solution Approach 2:
Gateway devices serve as intermediaries that translate IP packets into SCION packets with embedded path information. The gateway adds SCION-specific headers containing path segments, enables source-selected path routing, and maintains compatibility with existing IP devices by transparently handling protocol conversion. This intermediary approach allows SCION's resilient path routing to be applied selectively without requiring changes to the broader IP infrastructure.
3Reliability
If multiple paths are used for data transmission, then network resilience is improved, but path selection and management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-computing and caching multiple valid paths between network destinations before actual data transmission occurs. The SCION infrastructure maintains path information in forwarding information bases (FIBs) at gateway devices, allowing rapid path selection during data transmission without complex real-time calculations. This preliminary path computation enables resilient multi-path routing while keeping runtime decision-making simple and efficient.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is directed to a computer-implemented system and method for transmitting data from a first node to a second node of a source-selected path routing network. In said system and method according to the present invention, a first data packet is received at the first node, wherein said data packet was sent from a source node according to next-hop routing. Subsequently, at least part of the data contained in the data packet is transmitted from the first node to the second node according to source-selected path routing. Finally, the data received at the second node is transmitted to a destination node according to next-hop routing. Said system and method is further characterized by the steps of determining, for at least a subset of a plurality of available paths between the first node and the second node, a plurality of path parameters; determining a plurality of attributes related to the first data packet; selecting a preferred path from the plurality of available paths based on a decision rule, said decision rule specifying, for at least one attribute, a preferred range of path parameters; and remotely determining the second node based on destination information related to the destination node, wherein said destination information is extracted from the data packet.