Virtual Relay Servers for Dynamic Internet Connection Merging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile broadband technologies face limitations in bandwidth and cost due to narrow frequency band channels, and existing connection-merging solutions require end-point upgrades and are not scalable or portable, especially in scenarios with geographically scattered devices.
Innovation Solution
A system with virtual, geographically scattered relay servers and gateway apparatuses that dynamically utilize multiple disjoint Internet connections without modifying client devices, application servers, or infrastructure, using a shared connection-merging protocol to aggregate bandwidth and reliability across multiple segments of the Internet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If connection-merging solutions are implemented through end-point software/hardware upgrades, then bandwidth and reliability are improved, but device complexity and deployment cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a network intermediary device that implements the connection-merging protocol, allowing conventional end-points to benefit from merged connections without modification. The intermediary translates and coordinates traffic between multiple connections, effectively mediating between the client devices and the network infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of connection-merging functionality within the network infrastructure rather than requiring physical modifications at end-points. Virtual network functions replicate the merging capability centrally, eliminating the need for complex end-point hardware or software changes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If connection-merging solutions are deployed through infrastructure upgrades, then scalability is improved, but deployment cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic connection merging where the network intermediary can adaptively allocate and coordinate multiple connections based on real-time conditions. The system dynamically adjusts which connections are active, how traffic is distributed, and which protocols are used, allowing flexible scaling without fixed infrastructure commitments.
Solution Approach 2:
The network intermediary is designed to support multiple connection-merging protocols and work with various connection types simultaneously. This universal approach allows a single deployment to serve diverse clients and applications, improving scalability without requiring protocol-specific or technology-specific infrastructure variations.
3Productivity
If multiple frequency band channels are utilized simultaneously, then bandwidth is improved, but device complexity and synchronization difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The network intermediary acts as a synchronization coordinator that manages multiple frequency band channels. It handles the complex tasks of timing alignment, protocol coordination, and resource allocation across different bands, isolating the synchronization complexity from client devices while enabling aggregated bandwidth utilization.
Data Source
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AI summary
Specialized Internet gateway apparatuses 101 provide Internet access to conventional network-enabled client devices 100 through multiple disjoint segments of the Internet simultaneously by means of multiple Internet access devices and of a "connection-merging protocol". Virtual relay servers 102, which also implement the connection-merging protocol, act as proxies between the gateway apparatuses 101 and the conventional network-enabled application servers 103 the client devices 100 connected to said gateway apparatuses 101 wish to communicate with. A virtual resource allocation and information server 104 aggregates status and routing information relevant to the gateway apparatuses 101, and dynamically adjusts the number, location and/or performance specifications of running virtual relay servers 102. As a result, a system and method for demand-driven, flexible-topology and intelligently-enabled communication between conventional network-enabled client devices 100 and conventional network-enabled application servers 103 concurrently over multiple conventional segments of the Internet is realized.