TCP Payload Transaction Accounting via Sequence Number Parsing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods fail to accurately account for multiple transactions within the same TCP data packets, leading to over or under-compensation for HTTP content providers, as they cannot separately track IP bytes for each transaction.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and apparatus that utilize TCP sequence numbers to parse and associate bytes within a TCP payload with individual transactions, allowing for separate accounting of HTTP transactions within a single TCP datagram based on the number of bytes each transaction includes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single TCP datagram is used to transport multiple HTTP transactions, then network efficiency is improved, but billing accuracy deteriorates because IP bytes cannot be separately tracked for each transaction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the billing process by using TCP sequence numbers to divide the total IP bytes into separate allocations for each HTTP transaction. The service gateway parses the TCP payload to identify transaction boundaries and distributes byte counts to individual transactions based on sequence number ranges, enabling accurate per-transaction billing while maintaining efficient multiplexed TCP transport
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces TCP sequence numbers as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the gap between multiplexed TCP transport and individual HTTP transaction tracking. The sequence numbers serve as a mediator that allows the service gateway to correlate specific byte ranges within a TCP datagram to specific HTTP transactions, resolving the conflict between transport efficiency and billing precision
2Ease of manufacture
If all IP bytes in a TCP datagram are allocated to the first transaction, then billing processing is simplified, but fairness deteriorates because subsequent transactions receive no byte allocation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the IP byte allocation process by dividing the total byte count into discrete portions assigned to each HTTP transaction based on TCP sequence number boundaries. This segmentation ensures that each transaction receives its fair share of byte allocation while maintaining a systematic and reproducible billing process that is not overly complex
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the billing parameter from a single aggregated byte count to multiple transaction-specific byte counts derived from TCP sequence number ranges. This parameter transformation enables fair compensation for each transaction by using the sequence number metadata already present in the TCP protocol to dynamically allocate bytes proportionally to each transaction's actual data volume
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for separately accounting for multiple transactions in the same data packets communicated over a network using Transport Control Protocol (TCP) include receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) data packet that includes Transport Control Protocol (TCP) payload data. The TCP payload is parsed to determine boundary data that indicates a byte location on a boundary between a first transaction and a second transaction. A byte count that indicates a number of bytes in the TCP payload associated with the first transaction is determined based on the boundary data. Accounting data for the first transaction is determined based at least in part on the byte count. These techniques allow a service gateway to bill separately for different requests and responses carried in TCP data packets, such as those for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).