US 9,319,467 B2 · Apparatus and method for efficiently and securely exchanging connection data

Abstract

In the described embodiments, a connection data exchange (“CDX”) service serves as an exchange point for connection data for establishing peer-to-peer (“P2P”) connections between devices. During operation, the CDX service can receive a connection data structure (a “ticket”) that was created by a matchmaker or an invitation service in response to requests from devices attempting to establish P2P connections. Each ticket can identify a corresponding device and can include encrypted NAT hole-punch data associated with the corresponding device. The CDX service can authenticate each ticket and decrypt the NAT hole punch data from the ticket using a corresponding key. The CDX service can then use corresponding NAT hole punch data to send connection data to each of the devices that reside behind NAT devices.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

at one or more server computers, performing operations for:
receiving, from a network service, a connection data structure, the connection data structure identifying each of a plurality of mobile computing devices that are attempting to establish P2P connections and including network address translation (“NAT”) traversal data and connection data for each of the mobile computing devices;
and
transmitting some or all of the connection data from the connection data structure to each of the mobile computing devices residing behind NAT devices using corresponding NAT traversal data from the connection data structure, the connection data usable to establish P2P connections between the mobile computing devices.

1 more element

A server, comprising:

a processing subsystem;
and
a network subsystem;
wherein the processing subsystem and the network subsystem perform operations for:
receiving, from a network service, a connection data structure, the connection data structure identifying each of a plurality of mobile computing devices that are attempting to establish P2P connections and including network address translation (“NAT”) traversal data and connection data for each of the mobile computing devices;
and
transmitting at least some of the connection data from the connection data structure to at least one of the mobile computing devices residing behind a corresponding NAT device using corresponding NAT traversal data from the connection data structure, the connection data usable to establish a P2P connection between the at least one of the mobile computing devices at least one other mobile computing device of the mobile computing devices through at least one intervening NAT.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

14/309,636Filed 19 Jun 2014 · continuation

Priority

7 Apr 2010

Published

US 2014/0365770 A111 Dec 2014

Granted

19 Apr 2016

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

H04L 67/141
Session management: setup of application sessions
H04L 9/32
Cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communications; Network security protocols: including means for…
H04L 61/2575
NAT traversal: using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
H04L 61/2578
NAT traversal: without involvement of the NAT server

Family

Application61/321,851Us provisional application · filed 7 Apr 2010

Application12/832,017Parent of this continuation · filed 7 Jul 2010

US 2014/0365770 A1Pre-grant publication · published 11 Dec 2014

US 8,769,278 B2Parent of this continuation

US 2011/0252238 A1Published application

US 9,319,467 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Apparatus and method for efficiently and securely exchanging connection data

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for efficiently and securely exchanging connection data

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims24