System and devices facilitating dynamic network link acceleration

Abstract

A peer to peer dynamic network acceleration method and apparatus provide enhanced communications directly between two or more enhanced devices, such as enhanced clients. The enhanced clients may comprise a front-end, a back-end, or both. In general, the front-end and back-end of the enhanced clients work in concert to translate data into an enhanced protocol for communication between the enhanced clients. The enhanced protocol may provide acceleration, security, error correction, and other benefits. Data from various applications may be seamlessly translated between a first protocol and the enhanced protocol, such that the applications need not be modified to use the enhanced protocol. The enhanced clients may automatically detect one another to establish an enhanced communications channel automatically.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An enhanced client computing device comprising:
 one or more processors configured to process one or more data packets of a first protocol;   at least one front-end configured to:
 receive the one or more data packets of the first protocol; 
 encode the one or more data packets of the first protocol to generate one or more outgoing data packets of a second protocol, the second protocol being different than the first protocol; 
 receive one or more incoming data packets of the second protocol transmitted to the enhanced client from a remote device; and 
 decode the one or more incoming data packets to one or more packets of the first protocol; 
   and   at least one network interface configured to transmit the one or more outgoing packets of the second protocol to the remote device over at least one communication channel and receive the one or more incoming data packets of the second protocol transmitted from the remote device over the at least one communication channel.   
     
     
         2 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the data packets of a first protocol are generated by a client application executed by the one or more processors. 
     
     
         3 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the client application comprises a web browser. 
     
     
         4 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the at least one front-end comprises software. 
     
     
         5 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 4  where the software is downloaded to a memory of the enhanced client for execution by the one or more processors. 
     
     
         6 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 4  wherein the software comprises a network driver. 
     
     
         7 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the front-end is further configured to generate quality of service information and transmit the quality of service information to the remote device. 
     
     
         8 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein the quality of service information is associated with one or more of the outgoing packets of the second protocol. 
     
     
         9 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 8  wherein said quality of service information is located in a header portion of one or more of the outgoing data packets of the second protocol. 
     
     
         10 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 7  wherein said quality of service information is transmitted via data packets of the first protocol. 
     
     
         11 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said first protocol comprises TCP/IP. 
     
     
         12 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said remote device comprises a server. 
     
     
         13 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 12  wherein said server comprises a web server. 
     
     
         14 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 12  wherein said server comprises a computing device having a back-end, said back-end configured to:
 receive the one or more outgoing data packets of the second protocol transmitted by said enhanced client; 
 decode said received data packets of the second protocol into received data packets of said first protocol; 
 generate said one or more data packets of said second protocol from packets of the first protocol; and 
 transmit said one or more data packets of said second protocol to said enhanced client. 
 
     
     
         15 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said remote device comprises another enhanced client. 
     
     
         16 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said front-end is configured to intercept said one or more data packets of said first protocol. 
     
     
         17 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said encoding comprises compressing one or more data packets of the first protocol into one or more data packets of the second protocol. 
     
     
         18 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 7  wherein said quality of service information comprises time-based synchronization information. 
     
     
         19 . The enhanced client in accordance with  claim 12  wherein said server comprises an application which services multiple endpoints.