Abstract:
A method and apparatus for a hybrid network device for performing in a virtual private network (VPN) and a wireless local area network (WLAN) are provided. The hybrid network device comprises a VPN module serving as a VPN hardware accelerator in a WLAN module, which performs in the WLAN, wherein the hybrid network device integrates WLAN and VPN capabilities into one device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to hybrid network devices for performing in a virtual private network (VPN) and a wireless local area network (WLAN) and, more specifically, to hybrid network devices integrating a VPN module performing as a VPN hardware accelerator in a WLAN module, and methods for driving the same.  
           [0003]    2. Discussion of the Related Art  
           [0004]    A virtual private network (VPN) establishes a private network on a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or public switched data networks (PSDNs) such as the internet to provide a network line similar to a private local area network (LAN) or a private line using a private branch exchanger (PBX) for users. In addition, the VPN provides a security function for protecting information transmitted over the internet.  
           [0005]    Recently, a wireless local area network (WLAN) has been used for communication between corporate users. However, the WLAN has a disadvantage in that it has a weak security function. Therefore, the security function of the VPN has been adapted for use with the WLAN.  
           [0006]    VPNs that are used in environments, which include typical wired networks, generally perform a security function with hardware such as a VPN gateway. However, there is no hardware, such as the VPN gateway, for use in a mobile environment. Thus, procedures for implementing the VPN are processed with software. For this, high performance mobile systems are required, but most mobile systems have lower performance speeds than that of typical high performance desktop systems. As a result, system performance is degraded when the VPN, which needs high system performance (e.g., high computer processing speeds), is implemented with software.  
           [0007]    In some instances, a VPN hardware accelerator is used to overcome the degradation of system performance. However, mobile systems typically have a limited number of expansion slots. Thus, it is difficult to implement a device embodying WLAN and VPN capabilities into one mobile system.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    In one embodiment of the present invention, a hybrid network device for performing operations in a wireless local area network (WLAN) and operating as a virtual private network (VPN) device by integrating a hardware accelerator of the VPN device into a media access controller (MAC) of a mobile system having WLAN capabilities is provided. In another embodiment, a method for driving the hybrid network device is provided.  
           [0009]    In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a hybrid network device comprises a VPN module, a WLAN module, a host interface module (HIF) and a local bus. The VPN module serves as a VPN accelerator for processing data packets transmitted to the VPN from a host of a mobile system. The WLAN module processes data packets transmitted to the WLAN from the host. The HIF transmits or receives data packets between the host and the VPN module or between the host and the WLAN module by interfacing with the host of the mobile system through a host bus. The local bus connects the HIF to the WLAN module and the VPN module.  
           [0010]    In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for operating a hybrid network device comprises the following steps.  
           [0011]    Data packets transmitted from a host to the hybrid network device are discriminated according to whether an application of a VPN is sent to a device driver of the host. The data packets received from the device driver are processed in an algorithm of the VPN or an algorithm of the WLAN by controlling the device driver in the hybrid network device. The data packets are read from the hybrid network device after completing the algorithm of the VPN or the algorithm of the WLAN. The data packets read from the hybrid network device are transmitted to an internet protocol (IP) stack of the host through a signal process for the VPN in a VPN processor, if the data packets are read from the VPN module. Alternatively, the data packets are transmitted directly to the IP stack if the data packets are read from the WLAN module.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    The aspects of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hybrid network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hybrid network device of FIG. 1 and a host showing a method for operating an algorithm of a virtual private network (VPN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN);  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an operation of the hybrid network device and the host of FIG. 2;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing step S 300  of FIG. 3;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing step S 310  of FIG. 3;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing step S 320  of FIG. 3; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing step S 330  of FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hybrid network device  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The hybrid network device  100  includes a virtual private network (VPN) module  102 , a wireless local area network (WLAN) module  104 , a host interface module  105  and local buses  112  and  114 . The hybrid network device  100  may be embodied in an integrated chip or a system. Because there are several interfaces in the host interface module  105 , the host interface module  105  has a plurality of host interfaces  106 ,  108  and  110 . It is to be understood that the host interface module  105  should have at least one host interface.  
         [0021]    The host interface module  105  is connected to the VPN module  102  and the WLAN module  104  through the two local buses  112  and  114 , and routes a data packet transmitted from a host  200  (shown in FIG. 2) via a host bus  116  to the VPN module  102  or the WLAN module  104  according addresses of the data packet. For this, the VPN module  102  and WLAN module  104  are classified into different address regions.  
         [0022]    The host interface module  105  includes a device interrupt register (not shown) capable of causing an interrupt if there is data to be transmitted from the VPN module  102  or the WLAN module  104  to the host  200 . The device interrupt register may provide a plurality of interrupt sources but a host interrupt register (not shown) of the host  200  receives only one register interrupt. Therefore, if there is one or more interrupts in the device interrupt register, the host interrupt register is set and the host  200  reads the device interrupt register to find the interrupt source.  
         [0023]    The VPN module  102  also serves as a VPN hardware accelerator for processing portions of the VPN algorithm that deal with, for example, encryption, which can degrade the system&#39;s (e.g., the VPN or the WLAN) performance resulting from excessive acquisition requests for resources. The VPN module  102  stores the data packets transmitted from the host  200  in an input buffer (not shown) of the VPN module  102 . Then, the data packets stored in the input buffer are processed by the VPN algorithm, and transmitted to the host  200  through an output buffer (not shown) of the VPN module. In addition, the VPN module  102  stores the packet information needed for VPN operation in a specific register (not shown).  
         [0024]    The WLAN module  104  includes hardware such as a media access controller (MAC) for performing a WLAN algorithm, a based-band processor (BBP) and a radio frequency (RF) system. In addition, the WLAN module  104  stores data packets transmitted from the host  200  in an input buffer (not shown) to perform the WLAN algorithm, and then transmits the data packets to the host  200  through an output buffer (not shown) in the WLAN module  104  in the same or similar way as the VPN module  102 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hybrid network device  100  of FIG. 1 and the host  200  showing a method for performing an algorithm of a VPN or an algorithm of a WLAN. The operation of FIGS. 1 and 2 will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 3-7.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an operation of the hybrid network device  100  and the host  200  of FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 3, it is first determined whether or not a VPN is applied to a data packet, then the data packet is transmitted to a device driver  202  (of FIG. 2) (step S 300 ). The device driver  202  transmits the data packet to the hybrid network device  100 , and the hybrid network device  100  performs a VPN algorithm or a WLAN algorithm depending on whether there is VPN packet information in the packet (step S 310 ). The data packets processed by the VPN algorithm or the WLAN algorithm are read from the device driver  202  (step S 320 ) and then transmitted to a VPN processing module  208  (of FIG. 2) or an internet protocol (IP) stack  204  (of FIG. 2) depending on whether or not there is VPN packet information (step S 330 ).  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing step S 300  of FIG. 3. First, data packets that are transmitted between the host  200  and the hybrid network device  100  pass through a packet filter  206  (of FIG. 2) in the IP stack  204  of the host  200 . The packet filter  206  may be in the IP stack  204  or connected to a front end or a back end of the IP stack  204 .  
         [0028]    The packet filter  206  then identifies the data packets transmitted to the hybrid network device  100  from the host  200  to determine whether the data needs to be applied to the VPN (step S 302 ). If the data needs to be applied to the VPN, the VPN data packet information is added thereto (step S 303 ), and then the data is transmitted to the device driver  202  of the host  200  (step S 304 ). If the data does not need to be applied to the VPN, the data is transmitted to the device driver  202  (as is) without adding the VPN packet information (step  304 ). It is to be understood that the VPN packet information includes information on how to process the data packet received from the VPN module  102 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing step S 310  of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the device driver  202  identifies whether the received data packet includes the VPN packet information (step S 312 ). If the data packet includes the VPN packet information, the device driver  202  transmits the data packet to the VPN module  102 . The VPN module  102  performs the VPN algorithm and stores the result in an output buffer in the VPN module (step S 313 ). However, if the data packet does not include VPN packet information, the device driver  202  transmits the data packet to the WLAN module  104 . The WLAN module  104  carries out the WLAN algorithm and stores the result in an output buffer in the WLAN module  104  (step S 314 ). Meanwhile, if the VPN module  102  or the WLAN module  104  completes the performance of their algorithms, the host interface module  105  generates an interrupt (step S 315 ) and stores it in the device interrupt register in the host interface module  105 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing step S 320  of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 6, when there is an interrupt, the device driver  202  determines whether the interrupt is caused by the VPN module  102  or the WLAN module  104  (step S 322 ). If the interrupt is caused by the VPN module  102 , the device driver  202  reads the data packet and the packet information from the output buffer of the VPN module  102  and a register converts the packet information into the VPN packet information (step S 323 ). If the interrupt is caused by the WLAN module  104 , the device driver  202  reads the data packet from the output buffer in the WLAN module  104  (step S 324 ). If the interrupt is caused by the VPN module  102  and the WLAN module  104 , the device driver  202  gives priority to the module  102  or  104  that read the data first.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing step S 330  of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 7, a packet filter  206  identifies the data packets read from the VPN module  102  or the WLAN module  104  by the device driver  202  (step S 332 ). If the added VPN packet information is included in the data packets, the data packets are sent to the VPN processing module  208  to be applied with a signal process for the VPN (step S 333 ). When the signal process for the VPN is applied, the data packet is transmitted to the IP stack  204  (step S 334 ) and is applied with the signal process that is applied to general data packets. If there is no added VPN packet information in the data packets, the data packets are transmitted directly to the IP stack  204  without interacting with the VPN processing module  208  (step S 334 ). In other words, the data packets of the WLAN are not transmitted to the VPN processing module  208 , but directly to the IP stack  204 .  
         [0032]    According to the present invention, a VPN module serving as a VPN hardware accelerator is employed in a WLAN module thereby providing a security to function to WLAN devices without sacrificing system performance. In addition, a hybrid network device is capable of performing in a WLAN and a VPN.  
         [0033]    While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.