Method and system of providing IPv6 packet transit between two IPv6 nodes of a utility network connected via an IPv4 network using encapsulation technique
AssigneeSilver Spring Networks, Inc.
InventorsRaj Vaswani, James Pace, Jay Ramasastry
Life of this patent
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Abstract
One example embodiment provides a method and system where a node in an IPv6 utility network communicates with an IPv6 destination node through and IPv4 network. IPv6 utility nodes are reachable through at least one access point. IPv6 packets to be transmitted between an IPv6 access point and an IPv6 destination node through a IPv4 communications network are encapsulated in IPv4 packets for transmission through the IPv4 communications network. Packets received after transmission through the IPv4 communications network at the destination node are extracted to retrieve the IPv6 packet.
Claims30
A method of communicating between an IPv6 network and a remote node through an IPv4 network, wherein the IPv4 network is communicatively linked to the IPv6 network by an access point in the IPv6 network, the method comprising:
- receiving, by the access point, a data packet from a node in the IPv6 network;
- in the event that the data packet includes an IPv6 address of the node and includes a destination that is accessible through the IPv4 network, determining, by the access point, whether to transmit the data packet by tunneling or by encapsulating the data packet by the access point in one or more IPv4 data packets, in accordance with a communications capability of the access point and a communications capability of the destination, the communications capability of the access point including a capability of whether the access point is configured to communicate according to IPv4, IPv6, or both IPv4 and IPv6, and the communications capability of the destination including a capability of the destination to communicate according to IPv4, IPv6, or both IPv4 and IPv6;
- and
- transmitting, by the access point, the data packet through the IPv4 network to the destination in accordance with the determination whether to use tunneling or encapsulation.
An access point for communicating between an IPv6 network and a remote node through an IPv4 network, wherein the IPv4 network is communicatively linked to the IPv6 network by the access point in the IPv6 network, the access point comprising:
- means for receiving a data packet from a node in the IPv6 network;
- means for determining, in the event that the data packet includes an IPv6 address of the node and includes a destination that is accessible through the IPv4 network, whether to transmit the data packet by tunneling or by encapsulating the data packet by the access point in one or more IPv4 data packets, in accordance with a communications capability of the access point and a communications capability of the destination, the communications capability of the access point including a capability of whether the access point is configured to communicate according to IPv4, IPv6, or both IPv4 and IPv6, and the communications capability of the destination including a capability of the destination to communicate according to IPv4, IPv6, or both IPv4 and IPv6;
- and
- means for transmitting the data packet through the IPv4 network to the destination in accordance with the determination whether to use tunneling or encapsulation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.