System, method, and apparatus for end-to-end synchronization, adaptive link resource reservation and data tunneling

A system for sending data over a communications network comprising at least one intermediate nodes from a source node to a destination node through a communications tunnel, said system comprising:

• a. a source network interface associated with the source node, wherein the source network interface is configured to send a request to transmit data to the destination node, and
• b. a server configured to establish the communications tunnel by:
• i. determining a communication path for establishing the communications tunnel from the source node to the destination node, the path comprising one or more of the at least one intermediate nodes between the source node and the destination node, wherein between each node along the path is a communication segment;
• ii. synchronizing in time each of the source node, the destination node, and each of the at least one intermediate nodes along the communication path;
• iii. measuring a channel condition of each of the communication segments along the communication path to determine at least one end-to-end channel transmission parameter;
• iv. selecting a transmission scheme dependent on the at least one end-to-end channel transmission parameter;
• v. reserving node resources at each of the at least one intermediate nodes and the destination node in a plurality of sequential time slots such that resources at a given node are reserved during a time slot in which the data is expected to arrive;
• and
• whereby upon establishing the communications tunnel, the source network interface is further configured to transmit data through the communications tunnel using the selected transmission scheme.

An adaptive method for sending data over a communications network from a source node to a destination node through a communications tunnel, the communications network comprising the source node, the destination node, at least one intermediate node, and a server, the method comprising:

• a. initiating a communication session from the server or the source node;
• b. the server selecting a communications path based on the data to be sent and a location of the destination node;
• c. notifying each of the at least one intermediate nodes of the communication session;
• d. under a coordination of the network server, for each network segment of the communications path, evaluating the network segment;
• e. for each of the at least one intermediate nodes, determining a time window for transmission of data through that node and determining a transmission scheme for that node;
• f. notifying each of the at least one intermediate nodes of the time window for transmission through that node and the transmission scheme for that node;
• and
• g. the server monitoring communication performance and adapting the communications tunnel by repeating steps e-f.