Patent ID: 9667452
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method for integrating useful application data as probe packet payloads while measuring available bandwidth between two nodes (sender and receiver) of a computer network comprising: choosing an Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool that is adapted to vary the packet inter-transmission time to achieve the desired rate of transmission per second; transmitting packet trains, wherein said packet train transmits a complete block of said User Application Data as part of its probe data payload, thereby enabling said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool in calculating the actual Available Bandwidth using User Datagram Protocol channel; and a Transmission Control Protocol Packet Loss Recovery channel at said two nodes of said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool to transmit lost packets (sub-blocks) in said User Datagram Protocol-Probe channel, wherein said User Application Data is the actual packet train data at agreed rates, wherein said Transmission Control Protocol Packet Loss Recovery channel is used to retransmit said lost packets, wherein said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool is used to transmit said User Application Data as part of the probe packet payloads, thereby simultaneously measuring said Available Bandwidth in the path between said two nodes and also transferring useful data between said two nodes, wherein said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool is adapted to have constant probe packet sizes without changing the size of said probe packets for said packet trains, wherein said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool's core bandwidth measurement logic is left undisturbed while integrating useful application data, thereby not affecting the accuracy of the available bandwidth, wherein said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool is capable of transmitting a complete unit of application data (file) even in the case where the tool completes estimating the available bandwidth but still there is some more application data remaining, wherein said Transmission Control Protocol Packet Loss Recovery channel (retransmission channel) is also used by the tool to transfer the remaining left over useful data, and wherein said Available Bandwidth Measurement Tool is capable of calculating the available bandwidth between said two end nodes multiple times in cases where the amount of useful application data to be transferred significantly exceeds the amount of probe packet payload required for measuring the available bandwidth once.