Internet protocol routing methods, systems, and computer program products

Patent No. US10419334 (titled "Internet protocol routing methods, systems, and computer program products") on Oct 5, 2018. The application was issued on Sep 17, 2019.

’334 is related to the field of network routing and packet processing, specifically within the context of Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It addresses the limitations of traditional global addressing by utilizing scope-specific and path-based identifiers to manage data transmission across different network regions. The background context involves the exhaustion of global IP address spaces and the need for more efficient routing mechanisms that can handle network growth and reduce latency by leveraging localized or region-specific addressing logic.

The underlying idea behind ’334 is the use of outside-scope identifiers within a packet header to trigger specific operations and determine routing paths without relying on standard network interface identifiers. Instead of a global destination address, the invention uses a sequence of identifiers that are valid only within specific regions or scopes. This allows a node to identify a target region and a corresponding operation based solely on the association between the identifier and the operation, effectively treating the address itself as a set of instructions for traversing the network topology.

The claims of ’334 focus on a method and apparatus for processing packets where a node receives an IPv6 packet containing a sequence of identifiers. The node identifies a first operation identifier linked exclusively to an outside-scope identifier in the header, executes the associated instruction, and then extracts a next identifier from the sequence to determine the subsequent path segment. Crucially, the independent claims specify that the header does not include a standard network interface identifier portion for these outside-scope identifiers, relying instead on the regional mapping to forward data.

In practice, the invention functions by having each node in a path act as a regional gateway that interprets a portion of a nested protocol address. When a packet arrives, the current node looks at the active identifier in the sequence, which points to a 'second region' relative to the previous node. The node then performs a lookup to find the next hop or a virtual node within its own execution environment. This mechanism allows for source-destination path-based routing, where the entire route is encoded as a series of hops or regional transitions rather than a single static endpoint.

This approach differs from prior solutions by challenging the traditional distinction between names, addresses, and routes. While standard IP routing requires global knowledge or extensive routing tables to map a destination IP to a physical interface, this system uses scope-specific address spaces that are indeterminate without the context of the current node. By utilizing identifiers that lack standard interface portions, the invention enables more flexible, hierarchical network architectures and reduces the overhead of maintaining global reachability information across the entire internet fabric.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical Landscape

In the early 2010s when ’334 was filed, network architectures were typically implemented using a strict functional separation between naming, addressing, and routing as defined by established internetworking standards. At a time when systems commonly relied on global 32-bit or 128-bit hierarchical address spaces to identify network interfaces, the mapping of a destination address to a specific physical route was generally treated as a downstream task for gateways and local network procedures. Hardware and software constraints of this era made the integration of path-specific information directly into protocol addresses non-trivial, as routing logic was designed to resolve location-based identifiers rather than processing addresses that inherently encoded the traversal sequence or scope-specific regional identifiers.

Prosecution Position

The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement through an architectural shift that collapses the traditional distinction between an address and a route. By utilizing path-based and scope-specific identifiers within a packet header, the system enables a node to determine a next path segment and execute specific operations based on identifiers that represent regional relationships rather than standard IP network interface addresses. This integration allows for the routing of data through a sequence of segments using outside-scope identifiers that do not require the network interface identifier portions specified by standard IP protocols. The technical effect achieved is a routing mechanism that can overcome the constraints of fixed global addressing schemes, providing a capability to navigate network paths based on nested or scope-specific topological data directly embedded in the protocol header.

Claims

US Patent 10,419,334 contains a total of 58 claims, with independent claims 1, 27, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57 focusing on systems, methods, and apparatuses for processing network packets using outside-scope identifiers within an Internet Protocol environment to execute specific operations and determine subsequent path segments without requiring traditional network interface identifier portions. These independent claims generally describe a node receiving a packet, identifying an operation based on a specific association with a header identifier, and transmitting data to a next node or virtual node based on a sequence of identifiers. The dependent claims further refine these processes by specifying the use of virtual nodes, defining regional boundaries within the network, detailing the role of topology nodes in predetermining path information, and clarifying the specific execution of operations and packet header structures.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)	Support for Specification	Interpretation
First operation identifier (Claim 1, Claim 27, Claim 53, Claim 54, Claim 55, Claim 56, Claim 57)	The invention involves identifying, from a header of a packet, an operation identifier associated with an outside-scope identifier. The node then executes an instruction to perform the operation identified. This mechanism links the network path identifiers directly to specific processing actions to be performed at nodes along the path.	A specific value or code found in a packet header that is uniquely associated with an outside-scope identifier and triggers the execution of a corresponding instruction or task by the node processing the packet.
Network path segment (Claim 1, Claim 27, Claim 53, Claim 54, Claim 55, Claim 56, Claim 57)	The specification describes routing based on path-based protocol addresses where the network is viewed as a series of segments. A path segment includes nodes and the communicative couplings between them. The system determines these segments based on identifiers found in the packet header sequence.	A discrete portion of a total network route that connects two specific points, such as a previous node to a current node, or a current node to a next node or region.
Next identifier (Claim 1, Claim 27, Claim 53, Claim 54, Claim 55, Claim 56, Claim 57)	The node identifies, from the header of the first packet, a next identifier that is included after the first outside-scope identifier in a sequence of identifiers. The identifiers in the sequence are from an address space of the IPv6 network protocol. The node determines a next path segment based on this next identifier.	A subsequent identifier in a sequence within a packet header, following an outside-scope identifier, used by the current node to determine the subsequent segment of the network path.
Next path segment (Claim 1, Claim 27, Claim 53, Claim 54, Claim 55, Claim 56, Claim 57)	The specification relates to methods for routing based on a path-based protocol address where a route indicates how to get to a destination. The process involves determining a next path segment based on a next identifier in a sequence of identifiers. This allows the network to map addresses to specific routes or hops in a path-based protocol.	The subsequent portion of the network path, determined by a 'next identifier' in the packet header sequence, through which data is transmitted to reach the following node or region in the route.
Operation identifier (Claim 1, Claim 27, Claim 53, Claim 54, Claim 55, Claim 56, Claim 57)	The current node identifies, from the header of the first packet, a first operation identifier associated with the first outside-scope identifier. The node then executes an instruction to perform a first operation identified by the first operation identifier. This association may be exclusive or specific to the outside-scope identifier.	A specific value found in a packet header that is uniquely associated with an outside-scope identifier to trigger the execution of a particular instruction or function at the node.
Outside-scope identifier (Claim 1, Claim 27, Claim 53, Claim 54, Claim 55, Claim 56, Claim 57)	The specification describes routing based on a path-based protocol address where identifiers can represent regions or path segments. It challenges the traditional distinction between names, addresses, and routes by using identifiers that indicate 'how to get there' rather than just 'where it is'. These identifiers allow for routing through regions and path segments that may be nested or scope-specific.	An identifier within a network packet header that identifies a region of the network external to the current node's immediate scope or region, specifically used to identify a communicatively coupled region without requiring a standard IP network interface identifier portion.
Virtual node (Claim 53, Claim 54)	The claims specify that a next node in the network path can be a virtual node operating at least partially in the current node. This virtual node is identified using network path information in the header. The transmission to such a node may involve selecting from a plurality of path segments, including multi-hop segments.	A software-defined or logical network entity operating at least partially within a physical node that can act as a hop or destination in a network path.

Litigation Cases New

US Latest litigation cases involving this patent.

Case Number	Filing Date	Title
4:25-cv-00853	Aug 7, 2025	Morris Routing Technologies, LLC v. Comcast Business Communications, LLC et al

Patent Family

File Wrapper

The dossier documents provide a comprehensive record of the patent's prosecution history - including filings, correspondence, and decisions made by patent offices - and are crucial for understanding the patent's legal journey and any challenges it may have faced during examination.

Get instant alerts for new documents

US10419334

Application Number: US16153146A
Filing Date: Oct 5, 2018
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2019
External Links: Slate, USPTO , Google Patents

IP Verse