Patent ID: 8745185
Filing Date: 2014-06-03
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A computerized method of providing semantically aware network-layer services in a packet-switched network that transports packets, each packet having a header, the method comprising: obtaining, into a first computer system, a set of application data, wherein the set of application data includes a first portion and a second portion; specifying, by application-layer software executing in the first computer system, first detailed, per-packet, semantic information (DPPS information) for the first portion of the set of application data, wherein the first DPPS information includes a first value for the first portion of the set of application data based on a type of content of the first portion; specifying, by the application-layer software executing in the first computer, second DPPS information for the second portion of the set of application data, wherein the second DPPS information includes a second value for the second portion of the set of application data based on a type of content of the second portion; inserting, by the first computer, the first DPPS information into the header of each one of a first plurality of network-layer-protocol packets that will each transport a part of the first portion of the set of application data; inserting, by the first computer, the second DPPS information into the header of each one of a second plurality of network-layer-protocol packets that will each transport a part of the second portion of the set of application data; transmitting, by the first computer, the first plurality of packets and the second plurality of packets on the network; processing the first plurality of packets in a network-layer router of the network and forwarding each one of the first plurality of packets based on network conditions and the first DPPS information in the header of each one of the first plurality of packets; and processing the second plurality of packets in the network-layer router of the network and discarding each one of the second plurality of packets based on network conditions and the second DPPS information in the header of each one of the second plurality of packets, in order to provide enhanced network services.