Abstract: To explicitly identify network devices without providing a database server using an IPv6 address. An IPv6 address for address management on a network is set in a network device connected to an IPv6 network and the network device keeps and maintains the address. An interface ID 12 of the IPv6 address is composed of a maker ID 13, a management ID 14, a device ID 15, and a function ID 16. Maker information kept and maintained by a maker of the network device is assigned to the maker ID 13 and a number indicating management by a device type is assigned as a number indicating a management system type to a device the management ID 14. The device ID 15 has numbers indicating a device type 17, a product type 18, and a product serial number 19. A number indicating a function of the network device is assigned to the function ID 16.

Abstract: To explicitly identify network devices without providing a database server using an IPv6 address. An IPv6 address for address management on a network is set in a network device connected to an IPv6 network and the network device keeps and maintains the address. An interface ID 12 of the IPv6 address is composed of a maker ID 13, a management ID 14, a device ID 15, and a function ID 16. Maker information kept and maintained by a maker of the network device is assigned to the maker ID 13 and a number indicating management by a device type is assigned as a number indicating a management system type to a device the management ID 14. The device ID 15 has numbers indicating a device type 17, a product type 18, and a product serial number 19. A number indicating a function of the network device is assigned to the function ID 16.

Abstract: A centralized multicast session management system is provided for managing resources in a multicast environment. The session management system includes: at least one multicast application that initiates a request for a multicast session; a session manager is configured to receive the session request from the multicast application and to assign a multicast address for the requested multicast session; and a routing and network manager for managing network resources, where the session manager interacts with the routing and network manager to allocate network resources for the requested multicast session before the multicast address is communicated to the multicast application.

Abstract: When a transport rate Rs is updated, in the case where the updated transport rate Rs is within a variable range (Rc<Rs<U×Rc, and U>1) defined by a current encoding rate Rc, FEC (Forward Error Correction) data sending rate Rf is updated (Rf=Rs?Rc) without updating the current encoding rate Rc. On the other hand, in the case where an Rc update timer set to three seconds, for example, is timed out, the encoding rate Rc is updated using a minimum value Rs_min of the transport rate up to that time (Rc=V×Rs_min, and 0<V<1). Even when the transport rate Rs greatly varies to be out of the variable range, the encoding rate Rc is updated in the same manner.

Abstract: A high level of security is realized by imposing limitations on an unauthorized communications device in establishing connection to a network, without involvement of an increase in the burden of network equipment such as a router or a communications device constituting a network. An address delivery section 103 in a router 101 delivers a link local address in answer to an address request from a communications device 111, and requests the communications device 111 to transmit authentication data. An equipment authentication section 102 in the router 101 authenticates the communications device 111 on the basis of the authentication data transmitted from the communications device 111, and reports an authentication result to the address delivery section 103. When the communications device 111 has been authenticated, the address delivery section 103 delivers a global address or a site local address to the communications device 111.

Abstract: A method is provided for selecting a route for transmitting data packets amongst nodes in an ad hoc network. The method includes determining a metric which is indicative of link stability between the nodes in the network; initiating a route discovery procedure that generates a plurality of candidate transmission paths between a source node and a destination node; and selecting a transmission path from amongst the plurality of candidate paths using the metric for nodes associated with each candidate path. The metric may be further defined as link duration (i.e., an amount of time the node maintains a link with neighboring nodes link duration).

Abstract: A method is provided for mobile wireless ad hoc network, where network nodes using the same routing protocol are uniformly sharing a single contention channel. Network nodes are able to dynamically and distributedly switch roles according to surrounding network environment so that routing functions can be either activated or de-activated in order to improve routing efficiency and increase network capacity by reducing unnecessary routing overhead (which is caused by excessive redundant routing nodes). In addition, the nodes are able to self organize themselves into hierarchies or different roles according to different routing strategies. The proposed role-switching method can be implemented on network nodes which support existing routing protocols or native routing protocol proposed herein to further exploit the proposed role-switching method.

Abstract: An automated and distributed method is provided for configuring addressing of nodes in a wireless network, where the nodes includes at least one wireless interface and a network interface which connects to an external network. Briefly, the method includes: assigning a wireless network address to the wireless interface associated with the node; assigning another external network address to the external network interface associated with the node in a manner where a subnet identifier of the network address for the external interface correlates to a host identifier of the network address for the wireless network. The method may further include assigning further network addresses to one or more network devices which share the same subnetwork as the external network interface of the node.

Abstract: Improved algorithms are provided for performing path management for a plurality of select data transmission sessions in a multicast network. The algorithms include: constructing a weighted graph which represents topology of the network; assigning load correlated costs to network links; and computing least cost paths for each of the data transmission sessions which accounts for global bandwidth utilization.

Abstract: An improved method is provided for switching paths at a network routing device residing in a multicast distribution environment. The method includes: maintaining a plurality of predetermined path sets in a data store associated with the network routing device, where each path set corresponds to a given network condition and defines a path for each data transmission session; receiving a message indicative of a current network condition at the network routing device; selecting a path set from the plurality of predetermined path sets, where the selected path set correlates to the current network condition; and configuring the network routing device in accordance with the selected path set.

Abstract: A multicasting network route provisioning system for use in allowing an in-session multicast application to switch its path on need includes a datastore of multicast addresses operable to route multicasting traffic over different network paths. It also includes a datastore of multicasting sessions having flows of various flow patterns, wherein a flow pattern is defined in terms of a set of source and destination network nodes, and corresponds to multiple routing network paths. Further, a session management module is adapted to aggregate multicasting session flows by allocating multicast addresses to multicasting sessions based on correspondence between the network paths and flow patterns of the multicasting sessions, thereby ensuring that flow patterns corresponding to different sets of network paths do not share a same multicast address.

Abstract: A centralized multicast session management system is provided for managing resources in a multicast environment. The session management system includes: at least one multicast application that is able to initiate a request for a multicast session; a session manager adapted to receive the session request from the multicast application and operable to assign a multicast address for the requested multicast session; and a routing and network manager for managing network resources, where the session manager interacts with the routing and network manager to allocate network resources for the requested multicast session before the multicast address is communicated to the multicast application.

Abstract: Improved algorithms are provided for performing path management for a plurality of select data transmission sessions in a multicast network. The algorithms include: constructing a weighted graph which represents topology of the network; assigning load correlated costs to network links; and computing least cost paths for each of the data transmission sessions which accounts for global bandwidth utilization.

Abstract: A multicasting network route provisioning system for use in allowing an in-session multicast application to switch its path on need includes a datastore of multicast addresses operable to route multicasting traffic over different network paths. It also includes a datastore of multicasting sessions having flows of various flow patterns, wherein a flow pattern is defined in terms of a set of source and destination network nodes, and corresponds to multiple routing network paths. Further, a session management module is adapted to aggregate multicasting session flows by allocating multicast addresses to multicasting sessions based on correspondence between the network paths and flow patterns of the multicasting sessions, thereby ensuring that flow patterns corresponding to different sets of network paths do not share a same multicast address.

Abstract: When a transport rate Rs is updated, in the case where the updated transport rate Rs is within a variable range (Rc<Rs<U×Rc, and U>1) defined by a current encoding rate Rc, FEC (Forward Error Correction) data sending rate Rf is updated (Rf=Rs−Rc) without updating the current encoding rate Rc. On the other hand, in the case where an Rc update timer set to three seconds, for example, is timed out, the encoding rate Rc is updated using a minimum value Rs_min of the transport rate up to that time (Rc=V×Rs_min, and 0<V<1). Even when the transport rate Rs greatly varies to be out of the variable range, the encoding rate Rc is updated in the same manner.

Abstract: A packet receiving unit 5 receives a packet from a communication path 4 and stores the received packet into a jitter absorbing buffer 6. A decoding unit 7 receives a packet from the jitter absorbing buffer 6, and decodes this received packet, and thereafter, transfers the decoded packet to an output unit 8. A packet number judging means 9 counts a total number of packets which are stored in the jitter absorbing buffer 6, and judges as to whether or not this counted packet number exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the counted packet number exceeds the threshold value, the packet number judging means 9 notifies this fact to a data discarding means 10. In the case that the data discarding means 10 is notified from the packet number judging means 9 by such a notification that the total number of packets stored in the jitter absorbing buffer 6 exceeds the threshold value, the data discarding means 10 discards either a portion or all of the packets stored in the jitter absorbing buffer 6.