US 8,619,817 B1Granted

Message address manipulation using source port codes

AssigneeSprint Communications Company L.P.

InventorsJohn Michael Everson, Jason R. Delker, Von Karl McConnell, James Walter Norris

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Abstract

A communication gateway receives an Internet Protocol (IP) message sourced from a first IP address and directed to a second IP address. The gateway associates the first IP address with a code. The gateway processes the second IP address to identify a Radio Access Network (RAN) address. The gateway transfers the IP message directed to the RAN address and sourced from the second IP address. The IP message uses the code as the source port number. A base station receives the IP message, and in response to the RAN address, wirelessly transfers the IP message to a routing system. The routing system wirelessly receives the IP message and forwards the IP message based on the second IP address which is now in the source address field.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of operating a communication system comprising:

receiving, in a Radio Access Network (RAN) gateway system, a first Internet Protocol (IP) message sourced from a first IP address and a first port number and directed to a second IP address, encoding the first IP address and the first port number in a port code to allow a source IP address field of the first IP message to carry a different IP address than the first IP address;
in the RAN gateway system, processing the second IP address to identify a RAN address, and transferring the first IP message as sourced from the second IP address and the port code and directed to the RAN address, wherein the first IP message now identifies at least two source IP addresses by including the second IP address and the port code that identifies at least the first IP address;
receiving, in a RAN base station, the first IP message, and in response to the first IP message being directed to the RAN address, wirelessly transferring the first IP message to a routing system;
and
wirelessly receiving, in the routing system, the first IP message, translating the second IP address into a Local Area Network (LAN) address, and transferring the first IP message directed to the LAN address.

2 more elements

A method of operating a communication system comprising:

receiving, in a gateway system, a first Internet Protocol (IP) message sourced from a first IP address and directed to a second IP address, encoding the first IP address in a port code to allow a source IP address field of the first IP message to carry a different IP address than the first IP address;
processing, in the gateway system, the second IP address to identify a Radio Access Network (RAN) address, and transferring the first IP message as sourced from the second IP address and the port code and directed to the RAN address, wherein the first IP message now identifies at least two source IP addresses by including the second IP address and the port code that identifies at least the first IP address;
receiving, in a base station, the first IP message, and in response to the first IP message being directed to the RAN address, wirelessly transferring the first IP message to a routing system;
and
wirelessly receiving, in the routing system, the first IP message.

2 more elements

A communication system comprising:

a Radio Access Network (RAN) gateway system configured to receive a first Internet Protocol (IP) message sourced from a first IP address and a first port number and directed to a second IP address, encode the first IP address and the first port number in a port code which allows a source address field of the first IP message to carry a different IP address than the first IP address;
the RAN gateway system configured to, process the second IP address to identify a RAN address, and transfer the first IP message as sourced from the second IP address and the port code and directed to the RAN address, wherein the first IP message now identifies at least two source IP addresses by including the second IP address and the port code that identifies at least the first IP address;
a RAN base station configured to receive the first IP message, and in response to the first IP message being directed to the RAN address, to wirelessly transfer the first IP message;
and
a routing system configured to wirelessly receive the first IP message.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.