Patent ID: 8717878
Filing Date: 2014-05-06
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for providing feedback information for a data stream being sent from a sending endpoint to a receiving endpoint, wherein both of the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint each have multiple physical interfaces connecting the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint to multiple networks, respectively, and the data stream is split into a series of data packets and sent over the multiple physical interfaces, the method comprising: gathering information as feedback information which includes at least a data capacity throughput for each of the multiple physical interfaces connected to the sending endpoint and each of the multiple physical interfaces connected to the receiving endpoint; splitting the feedback information gathered at the receiving endpoint and sending the split feedback information substantially simultaneously on more than one of the multiple physical interfaces from the receiving endpoint to the sending endpoint; detecting, based on the feedback information, that one or more of the physical interfaces used for sending the split feedback information have degraded or failed; and reapportioning the feedback information and sending the reapportioned feedback information from the receiving endpoint to the sending endpoint substantially simultaneously on more than one of the multiple physical interfaces which have not been detected as degraded or failed, wherein when reapportioning the feedback information, the feedback information is apportioned from the more than one of the physical interfaces to a different one of the multiple physical interfaces, and wherein the different one of the multiple physical interfaces is detected as degraded, and when reapportioning the feedback information, a portion of the feedback information is sent over the degraded physical interface, and a remaining portion of the feedback information is apportioned from the one degraded physical interface to a different one of the multiple physical interfaces.