System and method for bypassing an access point in a local area network for P2P data transfers

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for bypassing an access point in a local wireless network for direct point-to-point (P2P) data transfers.

[0002] The in-home Local Area Network (LAN) traffic model is beginning to change due to Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the storage of large multimedia collections on various devices coupled to the in-home LAN. For example, a consumer may have multiple Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), such as the TiVo Series 2 PVR, connected to the consumer's in-home LAN, wherein multimedia content may be transferred from one PVR to another via the in-home LAN. The most common in-home LANs are wireless LANs formed using local wireless access points, such as IEEE 802.11 access points. The resulting problem is that transferring multimedia files between devices, such as PVRs, using a traditional wireless LAN results in very inefficient use of the limited unlicensed radio frequency (RF) spectrum. More specifically, if, for example, the IEEE 802.11g communication standard is used, each transfer of a multimedia file uses a first portion of the IEEE 802.11g RF spectrum for a first wireless communication link between a source device and the access point and a second portion of the IEEE 802.11g RF spectrum for a second wireless communication link between the access point and a destination device. Further, contention for bandwidth at the access point as packets are switched from receive to transmit adds additional delay, thereby further wasting the RF spectrum and compute cycles on the PVRs and access point. Overall, this transfer process can be slow and burdensome to the application performing the file transfer. In addition, the Quality-of-Service (QOS) for other wireless connections and applications currently using the access point is also impaired.

[0003] Thus, there is a need for a system and method for efficiently transferring data files between devices in a wireless LAN.

[0004] The present invention provides a system and method for bypassing an access point in a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) for direct point-to-point data transfers. In one embodiment, a user device in the wireless LAN is equipped with a primary local wireless interface establishing a wireless communication link with an access point of the wireless LAN, a secondary local wireless interface for establishing secondary wireless communication links with other user devices for direct point-to-point (P2P) file transfers, and a P2P file transfer application. When the P2P application desires to transfer a data file, such as a media file, from the user device to another user device within the wireless LAN, the user device determines whether the other user device is within a coverage area of the secondary local wireless interface and whether the file transfer meets one or more alternate transfer criteria. If so, a direct P2P wireless communication link is established with the other user device using the secondary local wireless interface, and the data file is transferred to the other user device via the direct P2P wireless communication link. As a result, the access point for the wireless LAN is bypassed, and as such, the use of radio frequency spectrum is minimized. If the other user device is not within the local wireless coverage area of the secondary local wireless interface or if the file transfer does not meet the alternate transfer criteria, then the data file is transferred to the other user device via the access point.

[0005] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present invention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.

[0011] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for bypassing an access point 12 of a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) 14 for direct point-to-point (P2P) data transfers according to one embodiment of the present invention. In general, the system 10 includes the access point 12 coupling the wireless LAN 14 to a Wide Area Network (WAN) 16, which is preferably a distributed public access network, such as the Internet. Note that the access point 12 may be communicatively coupled to the WAN 16 by a modem (not shown) or the like. The wireless LAN 14 includes the access point 12 and user devices 18-22.

[0013] The user devices 18-22 may be, for example, Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), media servers, media players for playing media content provided by a media server, desktop computers, notebook computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, or the like, or any combination thereof. Further, as discussed below with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the user devices 18-22 includes a primary local wireless interface establishing a primary wireless communication link with the access point 12 and a secondary local wireless interface for establishing a direct P2P communication link with another user device for direct file transfers according to the present invention.

[0014] The primary and secondary local wireless interfaces may be implemented using separate wireless network interface cards, such as, but not limited to, two IEEE 802.11 network interface cards or a single network interface card having multiple radios such as, for example, Netgear's Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card. The primary local wireless interface may be a network interface card operating according to the 802.11g standard, and the secondary local wireless interface may be a network interface card operating according to the 802.11a standard. Since the 802.11g standard uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band and the 802.11a standard uses the 5 GHz frequency band, direct P2P file transfers via the secondary local wireless interface do not affect the availability of the primary network associated with the primary local wireless interface card. Alternatively, the primary and secondary interfaces may operate in non-overlapping channels of the same frequency band. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the IEEE 802.11 suite of standards. The primary and secondary local wireless interfaces may operate according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, the Bluetooth standard, or the like, or any combination thereof.

[0015] The user device 18 includes a P2P application 24, which may be implemented in software. The P2P application 24 operates to transfer data files from the user device 18 to another user device 20, 22 within the wireless LAN 14. According to the present invention, the file transfer may be performed via the access point 12 or a direct P2P wireless communication link, as described below in detail. In one embodiment, the data files transferred are multimedia files such as, but not limited to, movies and television programs. However, the data files may alternatively or additionally be any type of data file such as images, documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and the like. Likewise, the user devices 20 and 22 include P2P applications 26 and 28, respectively.

[0016] In one embodiment, the user devices 18-22 are PVRs, such as TiVo PVRs, and the P2P applications 24-28 operate to transfer recorded multimedia content among the PVRs within the wireless LAN 14. In another embodiment, the user devices 18-22 may be a combination of PVRs and, for example, personal computers, wherein multimedia content such as, but not limited to, videos, images, and the like is exchanged between the PVRs and personal computers. For example, the user devices 18 and 20 may be PVRs and the user device 22 may be a personal computer. In another exemplary embodiment, the user device 18 may be a multimedia server and the user devices 20 and 22 may be any type of device enabled to play multimedia provided by the multimedia server such as those manufactured and sold by Buffalo Technologies (http://buffalotech.com).

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary cross-layer implementation of a protocol stack of the user device 18 enabling the transfer of data files from the user device 18 to another user device 20, 22 by either the access point 12 or a direct P2P communication link according to one embodiment of the present invention. Note that this discussion is equally applicable to the user devices 20 and 22. As illustrated, the protocol stack includes a P2P application layer 30, which corresponds to the P2P application 24; a file transfer application layer 32, which in this example is a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) application; and a protocol stack switch 34, which may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For a primary local wireless interface 36, the protocol stack further includes a transport layer 38, which in this example includes a Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) service and a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) service; a network layer 40, which in this example provides an Internet Protocol (IP) service; a data link layer 42, which in this example provides a Media Access Control (MAC) service; and a physical layer 44, which in this example includes an 802.11g (2.4 GHz) physical wireless interface. Likewise, for a secondary local wireless interface 46, the protocol stack further includes a transport layer 48, a network layer 50, a data link layer 52, and a physical layer 54, which in this example includes an 802.11a (5 GHz) physical interface. Note that the primary and secondary local wireless interfaces 36 and 46 may be implemented as separate interfaces, such as separate network interface cards (NICs); or as a single system, such as a single NIC, wherein the primary and secondary local wireless interfaces 36 and 46 share common hardware and software functionality.

[0018] It should be noted that while only one secondary local wireless interface 46 is illustrated, the present invention is not limited thereto. The user devices 18-22 may include multiple secondary local wireless interfaces. For example, the user devices 18-22 may include three secondary local wireless interfaces. The secondary local wireless interfaces may be used in combination to provide a high bandwidth direct P2P communication channel with another user device or used separately to provide separate direct P2P communication links with multiple user devices. Multiple secondary wireless interfaces may also be used to provide a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system such as that in the proposed IEEE 802.11n standard.

[0019] A cross-layer agent 56 and network agents 58 and 60 effectively create an interface between the P2P application layer 30, the file transfer application layer 32, or both the P2P application layer 30 and the file transfer application layer 32 and the lower protocol layers 38-44 and 48-54. In addition, the cross-layer agent 56 controls the protocol stack switch 34 to effect file transfers via either the primary local wireless interface 36 or the secondary local wireless interface 46, as described below. It should be noted that traditionally each of the layers of the protocol stack had interfaces to only adjacent layers in the protocol stack. For example, the data link layer 42 would only have interfaces to the network layer 40 and the physical layer 44. However, according to the present invention, the cross-layer agent 56 and the network agents 58 and 60 establish interfaces enabling interaction between non-adjacent layers in the protocol stack. Thus, for example, in a point-to-point transfer the network layer 40 and the link layer 42 may not be needed and may therefore be by-passed to provide a more efficient transfer.

[0020] The network agents 58 and 60 may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software and operate to monitor the primary and secondary local wireless interfaces 36 and 46 and report the performance of the local wireless interfaces 36 and 46 to the cross-layer agent 56. For example, the network agents 58 and 60 may monitor and report information such as, but not limited to, LAN IP addresses of other user devices having secondary local wireless interfaces for direct P2P communication with RF frequencies available, the current usage of these secondary local wireless interfaces, available bandwidth of each of these secondary local wireless interfaces, and Quality of Service (QoS) for each of these secondary local wireless interfaces and RF frequencies, and the like. The QoS may be determined based on Forward Error Correction (FEC), acknowledged versus non-acknowledged packets, RF power margins, and the like.

[0021] The cross-layer agent 56 may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The cross-layer agent 56 may optionally be implemented as part of either the P2P application 28 or the file transfer application of the P2P application layer 30 or the file transfer application layer 32, respectively. The cross-layer agent 56 may receive information from the network agents 58 and 60 and may be invoked by either the P2P application layer 30 or the file transfer application layer 32 to control the protocol stack switch 34 such that a file transfer is effected through either the primary or secondary local wireless interface 36, 46, as described below.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the cross-layer agent 56 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Note that this discussion is equally applicable to cross-layer agents on the user devices 20 and 22. First, a file transfer is initiated by either the P2P application layer 30 or the file transfer application layer 32 (step 100). The desired recipient of the file transfer is the user device 22. The cross-layer agent 56 then determines whether one or more alternate transfer criteria are met (step 102). More specifically, the cross-layer agent 56 may determine whether the user device 22 is equipped with a secondary local wireless interface and is within a local wireless coverage area of a secondary local wireless interface of the user device 18. The alternate transfer criteria may include a file size of the file to be transferred, a history of the primary and secondary network availability, a priority level of the transfer, a file type of the file to be transferred, and the like. This would include determining if the additional time and overhead associated with configuring the secondary transfer out-weighs the benefits of by-passing the access point 12. The cross-layer agent 56 may determine whether the alternate transfer criteria are satisfied based on, at least in part, information regarding the primary and secondary local wireless interfaces 36 and 46 provided to the cross-layer agent 56 from the network agents 58 and 60.

[0023] For the file size, the cross-layer agent 56 may determine whether the file size of the file to be transferred is greater than a threshold file size. If so, the file may be preferably transferred by a direct P2P communication link. Regarding network availability, the cross-layer agent 56 may determine whether the primary or secondary network has been frequently unavailable or available in the past and determine whether to transfer the file by a direct P2P communication link based on, at least in part, the history of network availability. As for priority, files having a high priority may preferably be transferred via, for example, a direct P2P communication link. Regarding file types, files of predetermined file types, such as multimedia file types, may preferably be transferred via direct P2P communication.

[0024] If the alternate transfer criteria are not met, the cross-layer agent 56 controls the protocol stack switch 34 to couple the file transfer application layer 32 to the transport layer 38 of the primary local wireless interface 36, thereby effecting transfer of the file to the user device via the access point 12 (step 104). When transferring the file via the access point 12, packets corresponding to the file are transferred to the access point 12 via the primary wireless communication link between the user device 18 and the access point 12, and the access point 12 then routes the packets to the user device 22 via the primary wireless communication link between the access point 12 and the user device 22. Once the transfer is complete, the cross-layer agent 56 notifies the initiating application, which is either the P2P application 28 of the P2P application layer 30 or the file transfer application of the file transfer application layer 32 (step 106).

[0025] Returning to step 102, if the alternate transfer criteria are satisfied, the cross-layer agent 56 then determines whether bandwidth is available for a direct P2P transfer based on the information from the network agent 60 associated with the secondary local wireless interface 46 (step 108). If bandwidth is not available, a wait counter is incremented (step 110), and the cross-layer agent 56 determines whether it should continue to wait for available bandwidth (step 112). The cross-layer agent 56 may determine whether to wait based on the wait counter. For example, the cross-layer agent 56 may continue to wait until the wait counter reaches a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be fixed for all transfers or may be a function of factors such as a priority of the file transfer, network conditions, or the like. If the bandwidth does not become available during the permitted wait period, the cross-layer agent 56 controls the protocol stack switch 34 to couple the file transfer application layer 32 to the transport layer 38 of the primary local wireless interface 36 to effect transfer of the file via the access point 12 (step 104).

[0026] Returning to step 108, if bandwidth is available, the cross-layer agent 56 controls the protocol stack switch 34 to couple the file transfer application layer 32 to the transport layer 48 of the secondary local wireless interface 46, and a direct P2P wireless communication link between the user devices 18 and 22 is established (step 114). The file is then transferred to the user device 22 via the direct P2P wireless communication link, thereby bypassing the access point 12 and minimizing the use of RF spectrum (step 116). Once the file has been transferred, the direct P2P wireless communication link between the user devices 18 and 22 is torn down, or terminated (step 118), and the initiating application is notified that transfer is complete (step 106).

[0027] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the user device 18 of FIG. 1. Note that this discussion is equally applicable to the user devices 20 and 22. In general, the user device 18 includes a control system 62 having associated memory 64. The memory 64 stores software instructing the user device 18 to operate according to the present invention. More specifically, in one embodiment, the P2P application 24, the file transfer application of the file transfer application layer 32, the protocol stack switch 34, the cross-layer agent 56, and the network agents 58 and 60 may be implemented, at least in part, in software and stored in memory 64. The user device 18 may also include a storage unit 66 for storing files, such as, but not limited to, multimedia files that may be transferred to the user devices 20, 22 according to the present invention. The storage unit 66 may be any digital storage unit. As an example, the storage unit 66 may be one or more hard disc drives or the like. Alternatively, files may be stored in memory 64. The user device 18 also includes the primary and secondary local wireless interfaces 36 and 46. In addition, the user device 18 includes a user interface 68, which may include components such as, but not limited to, a display, an input device, speakers, and the like.

[0028] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.