Time-Aware Best-Effort Hole-Filling Retry Method and System for Network Communications

Abstract

This invention generally relates to a network communications technology. An implementation, described herein, performs a time-aware, best-effort, hole-filling communications retry function over a communications network. It does so in a manner that assumes successful reception of data unless the receiver indicates differently. The indication specifically identifies the missing data. With this indication, the sender resends only the specifically identified missing data. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

1 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform a method comprising: 
 sending data packets of a group having a defined order over a communications network to a receiver;    receiving a request identifying the packets of the group that the receiver failed to receive;    resending the identified packets to the receiver, wherein the packets resent are only those identified by the request.    
   
   
       2 . A medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises: 
 storing the packets sent into a history buffer;    in response to a request, retrieving the identified packets from the history buffer.    
   
   
       3 . A medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises assigning an expiration time stamp to one or more packets in the group sent, where the one or more packets are irrelevant if not received by the receiver by the expiration time stamp.  
   
   
       4 . A medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the defined order of the group of packets is sequential.  
   
   
       5 . A medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the packets of the group are sequentially numbered.  
   
   
       6 . A computing device comprising: 
 an interface to a communications network for sending and receiving data;    the medium as recited in  claim 1 .    
   
   
       7 . A communications retry method comprising: 
 sending data packets of a group having a defined order over a communications network to a receiver;    receiving a request identifying the packets of the group that the receiver failed to receive;    resending the identified packets to the receiver, wherein the packets resent are only those identified by the request.    
   
   
       8 . A method as recited in  claim 7  further comprising: 
 storing the packets sent into a history buffer;    in response to a request, retrieving the identified packets from the history buffer.    
   
   
       9 . A method as recited in  claim 7  further comprising assigning an expiration time stamp to one or more packets in the group sent, where the one or more packets are irrelevant if not received by the receiver by the expiration time stamp.  
   
   
       10 . A method as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the defined order of the group of packets is sequential.  
   
   
       11 . A method as recited in  claim 7 , wherein the packets of the group are sequentially numbered.  
   
   
       12 . A computer comprising one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the computer, perform the method as recited in  claim 7.