Patent EP0490801A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0490801A2
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EP
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Network communications intermediate interface
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1991-11-15
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-11-15
Abstract
Abstract A highly efficient and cost effective system, which may be physically located locally to a group of workstations (28, 30), performs communications rerouting at the network session level. The intermediate system (16) changes data packet headers as necessary to make such rerouting transparent to the devices which are connected to it. Data packets are otherwise unaltered. The intermediate system can be used to connect to a plurality of workstations and to a network entry point (12) in such a manner that each workstation appears to be directly connected to the entry point.
Inventors
- 👤 Jeffrey Lee Brodd
- 👤 Joel David Eikenhorst
- 👤 Adel Fawzi Fahmy
- 👤 James Herbert Maher
- 👤 Harvey Gene Kiel
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 22:34
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L69/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
140 words
A system for transferring data packets between a network entry point and a plurality of workstations, comprising: a single input/output port connected to the network entry point; an input/output port address for uniquely identifying each of the connected workstations; and redirection means for routing data packets received through the entry point input/output port to a workstation input/output port address corresponding to a session identified in a header of the packet, and for routing data packets received from a workstation input/output port address to the entry point input/output port; wherein, for any received data packet, if such packet belongs to a session which is identified by the entry point and the workstation with different identifiers, changing a session identifier in the packet header to the identifier used by the device connected to the imput/output port to which the packet is routed.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of Claim 1, wherein said redirection means includes a translation table, said table having one entry corresponding to each session routed through said redirection means, each entry having session identifiers used by the entry point and by a workstation to identify the corresponding session.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of Claim 2, wherein said redirection means, for each received packet which initiates a session, adds a corresponding entry to said table.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of Claim 3, wherein said redirection means, for each received packet which terminates a session, deletes the corresponding entry from said table.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of Claim 1, wherein, for a session initiated through the entry point by another system in the network, such session is identified by both the entry point and the workstation with a single session identifier.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
47 words
The system of Claim 5, wherein, for a session initiated by a workstation, such session is identified by the entry point and the workstation with different session identifiers, thereby requiring that identifiers in packet headers of packets belonging to such session be changed by said redirection means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of Claim 1, wherein said redirection means includes a logical name table, wherein sessions initiated through the entry point by another system in the network are directed to a logical name, and wherein said redirection means selects an input/output port address corresponding to such logical name.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
174 words
A method for transmitting packets corresponding to a communications session between a network entry point and a workstation, comprising the step of: sending packets from the entry point to an intermediate controller, such packets having a header including a session identifier; sending packets from the workstation to the intermediate controller, such packets having a header including a session identifier; within the intermediate controller, forwarding packets received from the entry point to the workstation; within the intermediate controller, forwarding packets received from the workstation to the entry point; for packets received from the workstation, if the workstation and the entry point refer to the session using-different identifiers, changing the identifier in the packet header to that used by the entry point before sending the packet, otherwise unchanged, to the entry point; and for packets received from the entry point, if the workstation and the entry point refer to the session using different identifiers, changing the identifier in the packet header to that used by the workstation before sending the packet, otherwise unchanged, to the workstation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of Claim 8, further comprising the steps of: maintaining a table of session identifiers, wherein, for any session in which the entry point and the workstation use different identifiers for the session, both identifiers are stored in the table, wherein identifiers are changed to corresponding identifiers stored in the table.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of Claim 9, wherein one entry is maintained in the table corresponding to each communications session transmitted through the intermediate controller, such entry containing the session identifiers for both the entry point and the workstation for those sessions in which they differ.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of Claim 10, wherein an entry is added to the table whenever a new session is initiated.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of Claim 11, wherein the entry point and the workstation use the same session identifier for sessions initiated from the target system.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of Claim 12, wherein the entry point and the workstation use different identifiers for sessions initiated from the workstation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of Claim 10, wherein the entry corresponding to a communications session is deleted from the table when such session is terminated.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of Claim 9, further comprising the step of: maintaining a table of logical names for the workstations, wherein a request to initiate a session by the target system is denied unless a logical name identified in such request is matched to a logical name in the table.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of Claim 15, further comprising the step of: when a logical name identified in a request to initiate a session by the target node is found in the table of logical names, adding an entry to the table of session identifiers corresponding to such session.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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