SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF ROUTERS ON THE INTERNET AND/OR CELLULAR NETWORKS AND/OR OTHER NETWORKS AND ALLEVIATING BOTTLENECKS AND OVERLOADS ON THE NETWORK

SYSTEME ET METHODE POUR AMELIORER L'EFFICACITE DES ROUTEURS SUR INTERNET ET/OU SUR LES RESEAUX CELLULAIRES ET/OU SUR D'AUTRES RESEAUX ET POUR REDUIRE LE CONGESTIONNEMENT ET LES SURCHARGES DE RESEAU

English Abstract

The biggest bottleneck in the Internet today is caused by the slow speed of
roofers,
compared to the speeds that are achieved by optic fibers with DWDM (Dense Wave
Division Multiplexing). Packet switching or something similar to it is needed
not just
for better utilization of the lines, but also because it is superior to
circuit switching in
many ways, such as better scalability as the Internet grows, better handling
of traffic
congestions, and better routing flexibility. But optical routers are currently
unable to do
packet switching except by translating the data to electronic data and then
back, which
is very inefficient. The present invention solves this problem by optically
marking and
detecting the packet headers or parts of them, translating at most only the
headers or
parts of them to electronics for making packet switching decisions, and
keeping the rest
of the packets in optical delay lines, and solving response-time problems in
the roofer,
so that the crude optical switches can execute the packet switching decisions
at fast bit
rates. This solution has very high scalability and becomes even more efficient
when
physical addresses are used. Another optimization described in this invention
is
improving routing efficiency and bandwidth utilization by grouping together
identical
data packets from the same source going to the same general area with a
multiple list of
targets connected to each copy of the data and sent together to the general
target area.
These grouped packets are then preferably broken down into smaller groups by
the
roofers in the general target area and finally broken down to individual data
packets for
delivering to the final actual destinations. This optimization works best with
Physical
addresses, and can be very useful for example for optimizing the access to
very popular
sites such as for example Yahoo or CNN, and can be used also for example for
more
efficiently transferring streaming data, such as for example from Internet
radio stations,
or Internet TV stations which will probably exist in the next years. Another
important
optimization is a new architecture and principles for routing based on
physical
geographical IP addresses (such as for example based on GPS), in a way much
more
efficient than has been previously discussed in the literature that suggested
using
physical (geographical) addresses. This is preferably based on a hierarchy
similar to a
hierarchical road system, so that preferably the MAIN roofers (and/or
intermediary-
level roofers) are preferably also connected directly and preferably with high-
bandwidth
as peers between each other, without having to go through lower-level routers
in order
to reach their peers, so that once a higher-level roofer (and especially if
it's one of the
MAIN roofers) decides to forward a packet (or a group of packets) to a higher-
level
peer, preferably the packets don't have to go through lower level roofers.
However,
conversion from the current architecture to the new one can be done very easy,
as
shown in the description below.

Claims

CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A system for improving the performance of routers on the Internet and/or
cellular
networks and/or other networks, comprising at least one of:
a. A hierarchical system that uses geographical addresses, with at least one
of wider bandwidth and direct links between routers that are higher on the
hierarchy.
b. A system for grouping together at least one of identical and non-identical
packets going to the same general area or direction, wherein if the packets
are
identical they are also condensed into a single copy of the data with. a list
of
multiple target addresses, and said grouping is optimized by initiating on
purpose sending out the data to a large number of targets at the same time.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the routers are organized in a hierarchical
system that
uses geographical addresses, with at least one of wider bandwidth and direct
links
between routers that are higher on the hierarchy.
3. The system of any of the above claims wherein identical data packets from
the same
source going to the same general area can be grouped together and condensed by
sending in each group the identical data only once with a multiple list of
targets, and
this grouping is optimized by initiating on purpose sending out the same data
to a
large number of targets at the same time.
4. The system of any of the above claims wherein this grouping is used for at
least one
of:
a. Pushing data to a large group of subscribers at the same time.
b. Sending much more efficiently automatic software updates or patches.
c. Pushing updates of the DNS tables among the servers.
d. Constantly pushing at least one of streaming audio and streaming
video to the proxies or centers that distribute it.
e. Updating mirror sites.

41
5. A method for improving the performance of roofers on the Internet and/or
cellular
networks and/or other networks, comprising at least one of the following
steps:
a. Using a hierarchical system of geographical addresses, with at least
one of wider bandwidth and direct links between routers that are higher on
the hierarchy.
b. Grouping together at least one of identical and non-identical packets
going to the same general area or direction, wherein if the packets are
identical they are also condensed into a single copy of the data with a list
of
multiple target addresses, and said grouping is optimized by initiating on
purpose sending out the data to a large number of targets at the same time.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the routers are organized in a hierarchical
system that
uses geographical addresses, with at least one of wider bandwidth and direct
links
between routers that are higher on the hierarchy.
7. The method of any of the above method claims wherein identical data packets
from
the same source going to the same general area can be grouped together and
condensed by sending in each group the identical data only once with a
multiple list
of targets, and this grouping is optimized by initiating on purpose sending
out the
same data to a large number of targets at the same time.
8. The method of any of the above method claims wherein this grouping is used
for at
least one of:
a. Pushing data to a large group of subscribers at the same time.
b. Sending much more efficiently automatic software updates or patches.
c. Pushing updates of the DNS tables among the servers.
d. Constantly pushing at least one of streaming audio and streaming video to
the
proxies or centers that distribute it.
e. Updating mirror sites.
9. The system of any of the above system claims wherein identical data packets
from the
same source going to the same general area can be grouped together and
condensed
by sending in each group the identical data only once with a multiple list of
targets,
and sent together to the general target area.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein least one of the following features exist:

42
a. The grouped packets are broken down into smaller groups by the routers in
the
general target area and finally broken down to individual data packets for
delivering to the final actual destinations.
b. Said grouped packets are broken down directly by the routers in the general
target area into individual data packets for delivering to the final actual
destinations.
c. Said grouping of the packets is done as a pre-processing by routers.
d. Said grouping of the packets is done by the servers themselves, which can
be at
least one of the original site, a mirror site, and a proxy.
e. A short time window is used on the server for collecting requests for data
in
order to group the packets together.
11. The method of any of the above method claims wherein identical data
packets from
the same source going to the same general area can be grouped together and
condensed by sending in each group the identical data only once, with a
multiple list
of targets, and sent together to the general target area.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein at least one of the following features
exist:
a. The grouped packets are broken down into smaller groups by the routers in
the
general target area and finally broken down to individual data packets for
delivering to the final actual destinations.
b. Said grouped packets are broken down directly by the routers in the general
target area into individual data packets for delivering to the final actual
destinations.
c. Said grouping of the packets is done as a pre-processing by routers.
d. Said grouping of the packets is done by the servers themselves, which can
be at
least one of the original site, a mirror site, and a proxy.
e. A short time window is used on the server for collecting requests for data
in
order to group the packets together.
13. The system of any of the above system claims wherein the geographical
addresses can
also be combined with some additional non-physical codes, so that if there are
more
than one network connected devices with exactly the same physical coordinates,
the
additional code can distinguish between them and only the nearest local
devices need
to carry local tables for choosing between them.
14. The system of any of the above system claims wherein the geographical
addresses are
combined with additional non-physical addresses, so that network-connected
devices

43
are grouped together into small areas, and within each small area non-physical
routing
tables are used locally.
15. The method of any of the above method claims wherein the geographical
addresses
can also be combined with some additional non-physical codes, so that if there
are
more than one network-connected devices with exactly the same physical
coordinates,
the additional code can distinguish between them and only the nearest local
devices
need to carry local tables for choosing between them.
16. The method of any of the above method claims wherein the geographical
addresses
are combined with additional non-physical addresses, so that network-connected
devices are grouped together into small areas, and within each small area non-
physical routing tables are used locally.
17. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and unless the target is within its own area,
each router
tries to choose one of the neighboring MAIN routers (routers that are highest
on the
hierarchy) that are closest to the physical direction of the target area.
18. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and smaller routers forward packets that are
going
outside of the general area served by the MAIN router which covers their area
to that
MAIN router and let that MAIN router make the routing decision for such
packets.
19. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and each router has already a list of
preferable next
best hops or best routes for reaching the chosen MAIN router.
20. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and each MAIN router has the list of locations
of all
the MAIN routers on the net and tries to choose one of the MAIN routers that
are
closest to the target area.
21. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and each MAIN router has already a list of
preferable
next best hops or best routes for reaching the chosen MAIN router.

44
22. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchy of at
least two-
levels of routers is used.
23. The system of any of the above system claims wherein the higher a router
is on the
hierarchy, it also has more bandwidth associated with it.
24. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used, and higher-level routers are also connected
directly
with high-bandwidth as peers between each other, at least each one to its more
close
neighbors, without having to go through lower-level routers in order to reach
their
peers, so that once a higher-level router decides to forward a packet or group
of
packets to a higher-level peer the packets don't have to go through lower
level
routers.
25. The system of any of the above system claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used, and lower level routers are used locally, and
in order
to get to other areas a lower level router forwards packets to a nearby MAIN
router,
which then forwards the data through direct connections to other MAIN routers,
and
at the target area lower level routers are used again, in order to reach the
final target.
26. The method of any of the above method claims wherein unless the target is
within
its own area, each router tries to choose one of the neighboring MAIN routers
(routers
that are highest on the hierarchy) that are closest to the physical direction
of the target
area.
27. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and smaller routers forward packets that are
going
outside of the general area served by the MAIN router which covers their area
to that
MAIN router and let that MAIN router make the routing decision for such
packets.
28. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and each router has already a list of
preferable next
best hops or best routes for reaching the chosen MAIN router.
29. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and each MAIN router has the list of locations
of all
the MAIN routers on the net and tries to choose one of the MAIN routers that
are
closest to the target area.

45
30. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used and each MAIN router has already a list of
preferable
next best hops or best routes for reaching the chosen MAIN router.
31. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchy of at
least two-
levels of routers is used.
32. The method of any of the above method claims wherein the higher a router
is on the
hierarchy, it also has more bandwidth associated with it.
33. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used, and higher-level routers are also connected
directly
with high-bandwidth as peers between each other, at least each one to its more
close
neighbors, without having to go through lower-level routers in order to reach
their
peers, so that once a higher-level router decides to forward a packet or group
of
packets to a higher-level peer the packets don't have to go through lower
level
routers.
34. The method of any of the above method claims wherein a hierarchical system
of
geographical addresses is used, and lower level routers are used locally, and
in order
to get to other areas a lower level router forwards packets to a nearby MAIN
router,
which then forwards the data through direct connections to other MAIN routers,
and
at the target area lower level routers are used again, in order to reach the
final target.
35. The system of any of the above system claims wherein at least one of load
distribution
systems and caching systems are optimized by placing at least one of mirror
servers
and proxies especially at close proximity to at least higher-level central
routers on the
hierarchies.
36. The system of any of the above system claims wherein when updates are
initiated
from the source of the data to mirror sites, they are distributed to all of
them at the
same time, thus automatically utilizing the optimization of routing together
packets
going to the same general areas.
37. The system of any of the above system claims wherein data such as
streaming audio
and streaming video can be constantly updated by sending it at the same time
from the

46
origin of the data to the main centers and/or sub-centers even before any user
asks for
them and condensing together identical packets going to the same areas.
38. The method of any of the above method claims wherein at least one of load
distribution systems and caching systems are optimized by placing at least one
of
mirror servers and proxies especially at close proximity to at least higher-
level central
routers on the hierarchies.
39. The method of any of the above method claims wherein when updates are
initiated
from the source of the data to mirror sites, they are distributed to all of
them at the
same time, thus automatically utilizing the optimization of routing together
packets
going to the same general areas.
40. The system of any of the above system claims wherein data such as
streaming audio
and streaming video can be constantly updated by sending it at the same time
from the
origin of the data to the main centers and/or sub-centers even before any user
asks for
them and condensing together identical packets going to the same areas.
41. The method of any of the above method claims wherein for making the
transition to
this hierarchical architecture more efficient, the current structure of
backbones and
higher bandwidth connections is analyzed for automatically defining at least
part of
the hierarchy structure.
42. The method of claim 41 wherein said analysis is done by automatic
statistical
analysis, and after this initial structure is analyzed and the geographical
position of at
least the more significant routers is specified, the basic geographical
hierarchy can be
automatically defined according to this, and then later improved for achieving
better
optimizations.
43. The method of claim 41 wherein the further optimizations are achieved at
least by
finding where at least one of more connections and more bandwidth are needed,
and
adding them accordingly.
44. The method of claim 41 wherein the further optimizations are achieved at
least by
deciding where more MAIN routers are needed, and adding bandwidth and more
direct connections to routers that are chosen to become MAIN routers.

47
45. The method of claim 41 wherein this analysis is automatically repeated
often, for
getting constant follow-ups over the growth of the net and the connectivity of
various
parts of it and for locating and fixing at least one of weak links and
vulnerable
junctions in advance.
46. The method of claim 41 wherein in order to further facilitate the
conversion into the
above described hierarchies, and since the net currently contains many
interconnected
independent networks that are connected between them on borders called NAPs
(Network Access Points), which are problematic junctures, at least one MAIN
router
with high broadband direct contacts to their peers at other networks are added
at the
center or centers of each important network.
47. The method of claim 41 wherein more direct links are added along the
borders
between such networks, which is much easier, since there is no more need for
complex routing tables at these borders.
48. The system of any of the above system claims wherein Internet proxies can
keep
streaming data in at least one temporary buffer for a specified time window
that
enables users also to request at least one of instant replay and retroactive
recording
even if the user hasn't been tuned in to at least one of that streaming data
or that
source before.
49. The system of claim 48 wherein said proxies are at least near at least one
of MAIN
routers, and lower-level central routers on the hierarchies.
50. The system of claim 48 wherein at least one of the instant replay and
retroactive
recoding can be used with at least one of Internet Radio, Internet TV, video-
conferences, and e-learning sessions.
51. The system of claim 48 wherein different time windows can be used for
different
events.
52. The system of claim 48 wherein at least some events carry also a code
specifying the
requested time window for that event, so that proxies can be requested by the
source
of the streaming data to allow a longer retroactive time window.

48
53. The system of claim 48 wherein replay is allowed in a few discrete time
shifts, so that
many users can view it at the same time, thus saving bandwidth when multiple
packets going to the same physical direction are combined.
54. The system of claim 48 wherein requests for data can be combined even if
some users
start at a later point, and then only the missing starting parts are
transferred separately
to each user, while at the same time the common parts are transferred
simultaneously
in condensed packets to many users in the same general area.
55. The method of any of the above method claims wherein Internet proxies can
keep
streaming data in at least one temporary buffer for a specified time window
that
enables users also to request at least one of instant replay and retroactive
recording
even if the user hasn't been tuned in to at least one of that streaming data
or that
source before.
56. The method of claim 55 wherein said proxies are at least near at least one
of MAIN
routers, and lower-level central routers on the hierarchies.
57. The method of claim 55 wherein at least one of the instant replay and
retroactive
recoding can be used with at least one of Internet Radio, Internet TV, video-
conferences, and e-learning sessions.
58. The method of claim 55 wherein different time windows can be used for
different
events.
59. The method of claim 55 wherein at least some events carry also a code
specifying the
requested time window for that event, so that proxies can be requested by the
source
of the streaming data to allow a longer retroactive time window.
60. The method of claim 55 wherein replay is allowed in a few discrete time
shifts, so that
many users can view it at the same time, thus saving bandwidth when multiple
packets going to the same physical direction are combined.
61. The method of claim 55 wherein requests for data can be combined even if
some
users start at a later point, and then only the missing starting parts are
transferred
separately to each user, while at the same time the common parts are
transferred
simultaneously in condensed packets to many users in the same general area.

49
62. The method of any of the above claims wherein when sending the same data
to many
users or to many servers or mirror sites at the same time identical data
packets are sent
only once in each condensed packet by creating automatically multicast groups
and/or
sub-groups and assigning automatically users to them.
63. The method of any of the above claims wherein instead of keeping the list
of target
addresses in the condensed packet, the list of targets is sent first to a
server or router
in the target area, and the following condensed packets for the same group can
be sent
to that server or router without the list of targets and instead the condensed
packets
include a code that identifies the multicast group and/or the desired list of
targets that
the server or router in that area already has.

Description

CA 02458978 2004-02-17
17102/03 Yacon Mayer and Al J.C. Baur 1/52
System and method for improving the efficiency of routers on the Internet
andlor cellular networks and/or other networks and alleviating bottlenecks and
overloads on the network.
This patent application is a Continuation-In-Part of PCT application PCTIIL
01/01042
which was filed in Israel on Nov. 8, 2001, hereby incorporated by reference in
its
entirety, which claims priority from Israeli patent application 139559 of Nov.
8, 2000
and from US provisional patent application 60/266,730 of Feb. 5, 2001, and
from US
provisional patent application 601299 9I9 of June 19, 2001.
_This patent application is also a Continuation-In-Part of US patent
application
10/328,622 of Dec. 26, 2002, hereb~incorporated by reference in its entire,
which is
also a Continuation-In-Part of the above PCT/IL 01 /01042 and which also
claims
benefit and priorities from the following US Provisional,patent applications,
hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety:
60/344,455 of Dec. 26, 2001
60/344,652 of Dec. 28, 2001
60/353,781 of Jan. 29, 2002
60/356,554 of Feb. 10, 2_00_2
60/358,231 of Feb. 14, 2002
60/358,202 of Feb. 18, 2002
60/359,555 of Feb. 19, 2002
This patent application is also a Continuation-In-Part of PCT application
PCT/IL
02/01049 of Dec. 29 2002, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety
which is
also a Continuation-In-Part of the above PCT/IL 01/01042 and which also claims
benefit and priorities from the following US Provisional~atent applications
hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety:
60/344,652 of Dec. 28. 2001
60/353,781 of Jan. 29, 2002
_601356.554 of Feb. 10, 2002
_60/358,231 of Feb. 14, 2002
_60/358,202 of Feb. 18, 2002
60/359,555 of Feb. 19, 2002
This batent is also a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority from US
application
10/375 208 of Feb 17 2003 hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety
which
is also a CIP of the above applications.
This patent also claims priority the following 2 Canadian applications
2,443 036 of Sep 14 2003 and 2y444 774 of Sep 29 2003 hereby incorporated b~
reference in their entirety.

CA 02458978 2004-02-17
17/02103 Yaron Mayer and A1 J.C. Baur 3/52
Sac round of the invention
Field of the invention:
The present invention relates to muter optimizations on the Internet, and more
specifically to a system and method for improving the efficiency of routers on
the
Internet andlor cellular networks and/or other networks and alleviating
bottlenecks
and overloads on the network.
Back;.~round
With the current explosion of information transfer, optic fibers are becoming
faster
all the time. Most of the recent advances in the amounts of data that these
fibers can
carry per time unit have come from adding more and more wavelengths (termed
lambdas) to the same fiber at the same time, a method which is called DWDM
(Dense Wave Division Multiplexing). The biggest obstacle to this was the lack
of
suitable amplifiers, until the Erbium amplifiers were discovered in the late
80's,
which have 2 advantages: 1. They don't need to convert the optical signals to
electricity and back, but instead, light in the feeble input signals
stimulates excited
Erbium Atoms to emit more light at the same wavelength, 2. Because they
preserve
the wavelength of the optical signals, they can amplify many wavelengths
simultaneously without having to first extract them separately and then
recombine
them after amplification. Typically a single optic fiber can carry today up to
80
different lambdas simultaneously, and the number is likely to increase
further. As
the Internet becomes more and more demanding for bandwidth, optic fibers will
keep getting faster at a high rate. The upper limit for optic fibers using
such methods
is currently estimated to be around 100 terabits per second, and is expected
to be
achieved within the next 8 years.
However, the biggest bottleneck with such fibers today is the relatively much
slower speed of the routers. There are two main methods for routing: circuit
routing,
and packet switching. In. circuit routing, each connection gets a
communication
route for a certain time slice. This has typically been used until now mainly
in
telephony, but the big disadvantage is that typical data interactions have a
peak 15
times greater than their average rate, so typically on average only 7% of the
line is
used. In packet switching the same route can be used by many users
simultaneously,
and the bandwidth is divided between the users by collecting bits together in
packets
(typically up to 64 Kilobytes per packet in the TCP/IP Internet protocol), and
each

CA 02458978 2004-02-17
17/02103 Yaron Mayer and A1 J.C. Baur 4152
packet has a header that contains among other things the target IP address of
the
packet. This way, the route can be utilized up to 100% instead of only 7%.
Since the
early 70's the computing cost to switch packets has been cheaper and has
decreased
at a faster rate than the communication speed cost, and this is the reason
that the
Internet started using packet switching. Today, packet switching is beginning
to take
over voice as well as data. According a thorough review, "ATM. Another
technological mirage, or why ATM is not the solution " by Vadim Antonov,
published in http:/lwww.inetdevgrp.or I99$0421/atm.htm, packet switching or
something similar to it is needed not just for better utilization of the
lines, but also
because it is superior to circuit switching in many ways, such as better
scaleability
as the Internet grows, better handling of traffic congestions, and better
routing
flexibiliy. However, that article also shows that currently the system is
incredibly
complex and inefficient, with almost infinite roister-tables updates having to
propagate all the time. Another article, "Experts sound alarm on Internet
Routing ",
published on Light Reading on Nov. Ol, 2000 at http:!lwww.li ~ treadin~.com/
document.asp?doc id=232$ , shows that the BPG tables (Border Gateway
Protocols) are ballooning in size so fast that soon the entire system will
crumble and
definitely we will need to come up with new and better routing methods.
Another
thorough study, Middle Mile Mayhem, published by the Kellogg Graduate School
of
Management on the year 2000, at http:!lwww.opni.x.com/products services!
orbitl000lMiddle Mile Mayhem.pdf, shows that billions of dollars per year are
lost
due to too slow and congested roisters.
On the other hand, recently the ability of optic fibers to carry data has
increased
faster than the computing power, and the use of DWDM in optic fibers has
resulted
in roisters separating between the lambdas in a way more similar to circuit
switching. The start-up company Trellis Photonics for example created and
patented
a fast roister that uses a special crystal that contains holograms and
manipulates each
Lambda to into the wanted output fiber through the appropriate hologram by
applying an electrical current to the crystal. Typically this switch has a
response
time of about 30 nanoseconds, which is among the fastest in the industry
today, and
can support optic fibers that carry even a few terabits per second (because
the
switching is done for Large groups of bits, not for every bit of information
that
passes, and there can be time coordination on both sides for circuit
switching), and
Trellis will probably have soon faster switches with a few nanoseconds
response
time. Another start-up company - Lynx - claims that it will soon have a faster
roister that uses, instead of holograms, Lithium Niobate waveguides, which
will
typically have a response time of about 4-5 nanoseconds.

CA 02458978 2004-02-17
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Even with DWDM, Packet switching is of course still used on the Internet after
separating the lambdas, but the biggest problem with packet switching is that
the
computation requirements for analyzing the packets, finding their target IP
addresses; looking them up in the database, and determining their required
destination routes, create a severe bottleneck and slow down the process
considerably. Translating the information from the light bits into electronic
bits for
processing in electronic computers and then translating it back to light bits
is too
much time-consuming. For this reason, there are today a number of companies
and
university departments who are trying to work in the direction of all-optical
switches, which will be able to analyze the information within the data
packets
directly in the form of light bits, or various hybrid systems that will
combine
electronics and photonics. According to the thorough review "Technology:
Optical
illusions? ", published in http://www.americasnetwork.comlissues/2000issues/
20000901/20000901 optical.htm, the idea of reading the header separately
without
disrupting the optical bit stream and using that information to send a control
signal
to an optical switch has been already suggested in numerous research papers in
various scientific journals, starting from the early 90's, but the biggest
problems
have been the speed of the switching element, and the buffering of the
packets.
Another good review of such problems is "Advances in Photonic Packet
Switching:
An overview", by Yao et.al., published in IEEE Communications Journal on Feb.
2000, describing for example various complex attempts to synchronize the
packets.
Surnmar3r of the invention
The present invention solves the above problems by working around the
synchronization problem, so that the system is able to automatically
compensate for
the crudeness of the response time of the optical switch (at least a few
nanoseconds
with the available optical switches described above) compared to the speed of
the
bits flow: This way the "cutting knife" can be much thicker than the point it
has to
cut between each two consecutive packets. Obviating the need for
synchronization
between packets also enables simpler and more flexible buffering, so that the
delay
lines can even deal with packets of sizes longer than the lengths of the delay
lines.
The routers read only the headers or parts of them by optically preferably
obtrusively marking the target IP addresses or the entire headers or parts of
them, or
optically preferably obtrusively marking the beginning of each packet header
and
preferably making sure that the distance in bits between the beginning of the
packet
and the position of the target IP address is always constant, or marking both.
Since

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the position of the target IP address in the TCP/IP protocol is close to the
position of
beginning of the packet, it is very easy to find both positions when at least
one of
them is marked. (In case this distance can change, marking may be done for
example for both the beginning of the packet and the position of the target IP
address, or some more bits have to be read for fording the exact second
position, but
this is less efficient. Keeping this distance constant and keeping both
positions close
to each other is more preferable). So from now on, throughout the text of the
patent,
including the claims, marking the target IP address means either marking the
target
address itself directly or marking it indirectly by marking the beginning of
the
packet header, or marking both, or marking the entire header or pant of it, so
that in
any case this marking also enables us to know the position of the beginning of
the
packet (See also the glossary for more clarification). If both are marked, the
2 kinds
of marks are preferably different, so that for example the beginning of the
packet
header might be marked by a much longer consecutive period of light (as
explained
in solution 5 below) than the mark of the target address. This marking is
preferably
done at the point where the data is entered into each lambda, and is
preferably
detected after separating the lambdas. The detection is preferably done with
the help
of a very fast and sensitive photo-diode or photo transistor, which detects
the
optically obtrusive mark and then preferably extracts only the relevant few
bytes
that follow it and preferably translates them to electronic bits for
processing by
electronic computer or computers, preferably with multiple processors. This is
much
easier and cheaper than having to use a photonic computer, yet very efficient.
This
way, since a data packet in the current prevalent TCP/IP protocol can
typically be as
large as 64 Kilobytes, and the target IP address is typically just a few bytes
long, by
optically marking the location of the Target IP address it can be much more
efficiently located by optical means without having to translate all the light
bits to
electricity or having to process all the light bits in an all-optical
processor. So the
number of bits that have to be processed this way can be reduced by a factor
of 2-3
orders of magnitude. After extracting directly the IP Target addresses and
preferably
additional data from the header, this data can then be analyzed by the fastest
means
possible (for example by electronic computers with one or more processors, or
by
photonic computers when they become available), and then the routing decisions
can be immediately transmitted back to the router, which can then act directly
on the
light packets as for example in the two fast switches of Trellis-Photonics and
Lynx,
without ever converting them into electricity and back. Since the header is
small
relative to the packet size, this optical marking can be used also for
locating and
reading the entire header or additional parts of it, such as for example the
packet
size.

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Since making the packet switching decisions still takes considerably longer
than
the time it takes the light to pass through the router, preferably the muter
has an
ability to efficiently delay the light data within its circuitry for the
number of cycles
needed until the packet switching decisions can be made. Another problem is
the
crudeness of the response time of the optical switch as explained above. A
number
of solutions to this problem are shown.
Another optimization described in this invention in another p~ssible
variation,
which is related to the efficient handling of the packets by the routers, is
improving
routing efficiency and bandwidth utilization efficiency in Networks of
interconnected devices such as for example the Internet and cellular networks,
by
using much more efficiently physical addresses and/or by grouping together
identical data packets from the same source going to the same general area so
that
the body of the packet is sent only once with a multiple list of targets
attached to it,
to each general target area. This grouping is preferably done by the server of
the
originating source itself, and is preferably based a physical addresses
system, such
as for example GPS. These grouped packets are then preferably broken down into
smaller groups by the routers in the general target area and finally broken
down to
individual data packets for delivering to the final actual destinations. This
saves both
bandwidth and the number of routing decisions needed on the way, since only a
single copy of the identical data is sent in each group, and this is why this
can be
called condensed packets. Another possible variation is that preferably the
server
can also group together non-identical packets (such as for example packets
from
different files or a number of different condensed packets of the type
described
above) going in the same general area, with a combined header or general area
tag,
although in this case the different packets or groups of condensed packets can
not be
further condensed to a single copy of the data, so the saving is only on the
number
of headers that need to be processed along the way for making routing
decisions.
Such groups of different packets going in the same direction are also then
preferably
similarly broken down into smaller groups by the routers in the general target
area
and finally broken down to individual data packets for delivering to the final
actual
destinations. These optimizations can be very useful for example for
optimizing the
access to very popular sites such as for example Yahoo or CNN, and can be used
also for example for more efficiently transferring streaming data, such as for
example from Internet radio stations, or even for example Internet TV stations
which will probably exist in the next years, a thing which ordinary proxies
cannot
do. This can work even mare efficiently when it is applied in addition to the
current
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..,

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state of the art load distribution systems, such as for example Akamai. The
combinations of using both the various physical address optimizations and the
separate handling of headers can of course further enhance each other. This is
explained in more detail as part of the reference to fig. 1 b.
In other words, the patent has 3 main features, which work best when all 3 are
used in combination with each other, but each one of them can be used also
independently:
1. Non-blocking packet switching in Optical Routers, by dealing much more
efficiently only with the headers, without having to convert the packets to
electronics and back, while solving all the relevant problems.
2. New architecture and principles for routing based on physical geographical
IP addresses (such as for example based on GPS), in a way much more
efficient than has been previously discussed in the literature that suggested
using physical (geographical) addresses. This is preferably based on a
hierarchical infrastructure of routers - in a way similar to a hierarchical
road
system, so that routers that are higher in the hierarchy preferably have
direct
broadband connections with their peers (and preferably also direct links to
farther peers), so that they don't have to go through lower level routers to
reach their peers. However, conversion from the current architecture to the
new one can be done very easy, as shown in the description below,
3. Efficient grouping together of identical or non-identical packets going to
the
same general area - preferably based on the above physical geographical IP
address system, which will enable for example extremely fast streaming
video and automatic balancing of loads
A number of methods can be used for optically marking the target addresses
(and/or the beginning of the packet headers, or the entire headers, or part of
them).
(The optical detector for detecting these marks will then loop for the marks
accordingly):
1. One way of implementing this could be to reserve a special lambda just for
marking the location of the target addresses (and/or the packet headers or the
beginnings of them). In other words, this means that the target IP addresses
are marked by a slightly different color. However, this method has the

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disadvantage of being able to mark the positions only crudely because of the
different chromatic dispersion of different lambdas. Another disadvantage is
that the packet switching will be typically done after separating the lambdas,
so this method of marking requires transfernng the special lambda together
with each separated lambda or using a new mark for later processing by the
packet switching router, unless this processing is done at the same time of
separating the lambdas.
2. Solution number 2 is similar to solution number 1, except that instead of
one
lambda for marking target addresses (and/or the packet headers or the
beginnings of them) for all the lambdas passing through the optic fiber, each
lambda has its own preferably slight shift in wavelength for marking its own
target IP address. However this wastes more wavelengths and more
problems of crosstalk between close wavelengths may occur.
3. Solution number 3 does not use any change in color (wavelength) for
marking the target addresses (and/or the packet headers or the beginnings of
them), but instead uses a conspicuous change in light amplitude, preferably a
significant increase in the amplitude for all the bits of the target IP
address
and/or all the bits of the header or part of it. However, since optical fibers
typically need amplifiers at certain intervals, and some of them may not
support keeping the different levels of amplitude, this solution might require
changing amplifiers.
4. Solution number 4 does not use any change in color (wavelength) for
marking the target addresses (andlor the packet headers or the beginnings of
them), but instead uses a temporal method of marking it, which is much
cheaper and easier to create and also easier to detect later. Preferably, this
can
be easily done by simply marking the position of the target 1P address with a
period of no light considerably longer than ordinary. Preferably, This
considerably longer period is at the beginning of the packet and the exact
position of the target IP address is defined by a slight shift from there or
marked separately.
5. Solution number 5 is very similar to solution number 4, except that instead
of
an easily noticeable period of no light, it uses an easily noticeable period
of
consecutive light: Preferably, in addition to this, the period of consecutive
light can also use significantly higher intensity, in order to make the mark

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even more conspicuous. Preferably, This considerably longer period is at the
beginning of the packet and the exact position of the target IP address is
defined by a slight shift from there or marked separately.
6. Solution number 6 is to use a different polarization for marking the target
addresses (andlor the packet headers or the beginnings of them}, which is
also cheap and easy to create and also easy to detect later. So the detector
in
this case is a polarization detector, preferably tuned especially to the
different
polarization. Of course, various combinations of methods 5 and 6 and/or of
the other solutions can also be used. Another variation of this solution is to
use alternating polarizations for each two consecutive packets in the lambda
bit stream, so that for example all the odd packets have one polarization and
all the even packets have another polarization. However, such alteration
between odd and even packets is problematic and less desirable because after
the routing the order of packets can change, so it would require additional
mechanisms for shifting again the polarizations at the router or adding a
durnrny packet when required, to keep the alteration rule working. Also, this
can work only with polarization retaining fibers, which are more expensive.
7. Solution number 7 in to synchronize the wave phases of the various lambdas
and use time shifting of the waves of the different lambdas for the marks,
while taking into account also the differences in wavelengths, so the detector
in this case is a phase detector. However, this solution is impractical in
long-
distance fibers because of dispersion problems.
$. Solution number 8 is using for the mark a temporally different kind of
bits,
fox example fatter bits. So, for example, if normal 1's are 20 picometers wide
and 0's are 10 picometers wide, the marks can use for example 1's that are 60
picometers wide and 0's that are 30 picometers wide. The proportional
change of 0's and 1's does not have to be the same, and also the width of the
separator between bits can be either also changed or not changed. (Of course
this is just an example and 0's can be for example the same temporal width as
1's but identified by different light intensity levels, etc.) This solution is
in a
way a combination of solutions 4 and 5 and it is better than them because it
enables the mark to carry also information, and also avoids problems such as
a dark mark being the same as a period of a silence in transmission. This
mark of fat bits can be for example in front of the packet header, but
preferably the entire packet header itself or at least parts of it (such as
for

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example the target address) are encoded or duplicated in fat bits. This
enables
easier handling of the header even if the bit stream is extremely fast. Of
course various combinations of the solutions are also possible, such as for
example a longer consecutive period of darkness or light before the
beginning of the fat bits of the header.
Brief description of the drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a preferable exemplary configuration of
the
system.
Fig. lb is a schematic illustration of a preferable example of grouping
together
identical data packets from the same source going to the same general area
with a
multiple list of targets connected to each copy of the data and sent together
to the
general target area.
Fig. lc is a simplified illustration of a preferable example of connections
between
MAIN routers.
Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a preferred way in which the fast packet
switching optical router works.
Fig. 3 is a schematic visual illustration of a preferable example of the
temporal
marks in a single lambda in solutions 4 and 5.
Fig. 4 is an example of a condensed packet for much more efficient
distribution of the
same data to multiple users.
Imuortant Clarificatian andglossary:
Throughout the patent when possible variations are mentioned, it is also
possible to use combinations of these variations or of elements in them, and
when combinations are used, it is also possible to use at least some elements
in
them separately or in other combinations. These variations are preferably in
different embodiments. In other words: certain features of the invention,
which
are described in the content of separate embodiments, may also be provided in
combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the
invention, which are described in the context of a single embodiment, may also

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be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination. All these drawings
are just exemplary diagrams. They should not be interpreted as literal
positioning, shapes, angles, ar sizes of the various elements. When used
throughout the text of this patent, including the claims, "database" means
either database or databases. When used throughout the text of this patent,
including the claims, "computer" means either computer or computers, and
can mean any kind of computer, such as for example electronic or photonic,
with a single processor or multiple processors. "TCPIIP" stands for
"Transmission Control Protocol I Internet Protocol. "IP Address" stands for
"Internet Protocol Address". However, throughout this patent, including the
claims, this address is used as a logical concept and does not necessarily
depend
on a specific implementation, so the concepts of this patent can work with any
implementation or kind of target address. Eventhough there axe actually 7
layers of communication, we are concentrating on the target address as a
logical concept regardless of other layers. Since our optical marking would be
typically categorized as layer 1, which is the physical layer, layer 2, which
provides error control, must be able to ignore our marks or avoid being
confused by them. If some more data needs to be read for example from layer
2, it can still be done within the scope of the present invention by adding
for
example a few more optical marks if necessary. Also, for example the protocol
of the first 3 layers can be modified between the routers that comply with
this
invention in order to make the marking easier to implement. Also, eventhough
we described the invention with reference to DWDM, it will be appreciated that
the present invention can work similarly also with other means of multiplexing
that may be used in the future. Although physical (geographical) addresses are
described mainly with the example of GPS, other geographical or coordinate-
based methods can also be used, so throughout the patent, including the
claims,
wherever GPS is mentioned it can be also any other system of determining
physical location.
Detailed descriuNon of the preferred embodiments
All of the descriptions in this and other sections are intended to be
illustrative
examples and not limiting.
Referring to Fig. 1, we are assuming for the simplicity and clarity of the
example,
that there are only 4 lambdas carned simultaneously by the optic fiber. So
there are
4 units (marked 1-4) that encode electrical bits from electrical input lines
(marked a-

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d) respectively into the light bits of each lambda, and while encoding them,
these
units preferably find the target address of each data packet and/or the
beginning of
the packet header and mark them with an optically obtrusive mark, or mark the
entire header, so that the computer that makes the packet switching decisions
will
get the entire header. Preferably the target address is very close to the
beginning of
the packet and at a constant distance from it, so only one mark is needed for
each
packet. Most preferably the target address would be the first thing at the
beginning
of the header. Unfortunately, according to current Internet protocol, although
the
header is indeed very small (At most 60 bytes long), this distance is not
constant:
Eventhough the typical header length is 20 bytes, this length can change
between 20
to 60 bytes, and the target IP address is near the end of the header, so one
solution is
the read most or all of the header. Another possible solution is to change the
protocol at least within the system of routers that conform to this invention,
so that
preferably the target address is moved or copied also to the beginning of the
packet
before the normal packet header begins, and before exiting the system this can
be
changed back to the original header structure. An even better solution is to
do some
IP address processing in advance and put, preferably in front of the packet
header, a
label that defines already the general destination of the packet, similar to
the way
that postal services look first of all at the destination country. Such a
system can
save processing time for the computers that make the packet switching
decisions in
each router, and we want to make this decision time as fast as possible, so
that the
optical delay circuit can be made as short as possible. Also, it should be
emphasized
that the present invention enables a good flexibility in the amount of address
processing done by the router, so that for example the main junctions can rely
more
on the pre-processed labels (or on various levels of pre-processing), and
other
routers closer to the targets, who eventually have to deal with the exact
address, can
still do it much faster than it is done today. In the next generation Internet
that will
take over in the next few years, this will work even better, because: a. the
next
generation headers are going to be of constant size, b. the IP address size
will
increase and will probably contain also information that will help to
determine
better and faster in advance the physical location of the Target, so both the
pre-
processing of the addresses in advance and the processing at the muter will be
able
to work faster. So the physical location info might include for example the
GPS
coordinates of the target and the origin, or longitude and latitude
coordinates, or
geographical info such as for example state and town (for example as separate
numerical fields within the address) and therefore, preferably the routers
also know
their own geographical location and also the geographical location of all the
other
major routers in the Internet or at least of the routers that are directly
connected to

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them (coordinates, and especially GPS coordinates are better because the
calculation
is immediate without a need for maps). This way, almost no routing tables (or
no
routing tables at all) of the type that is used today are needed and even
without any
pre-processing the decision making per each address can be almost
instantaneous.
For example each muter can decide to forward a packet to another muter simply
if
that router's physical coordinates are closer to the physical address than
itself and
preferably chooses from the routers connected to itself the router closest to
the
target. This way, preferably for example the entire routing process might be
done
without the need to rewrite any labels on the way. However, for increased
efficiency, preferably each router knows in addition to the geographical
location of
the other main routers (or at least the routers that are directly connected to
it), also
their connectivity (for example in map or table or graph form), which shows
which
routers are connected to which, and preferably also the bandwidth of each
connection and/or for example relative load on each connection, and/or for
example
average free bandwidth and/or more precisely what physical area is covered by
each
of these routers, etc. Preferably, for maximum efficiency, the main routers
are
spread properly and more or less evenly around the Internet and with
sufficient
connectivity between them, so that at least in regard to the MAIN routers,
preferably
the above additional data is preferably needed and used more as an exception
in
extreme cases than as a rule, however their spread might also be based in
addition or
instead for example on countries andJor on the number of network connected
devices in each area and/or on known zip codes and/or on phone number
prefixes, or
any combination of the above, etc. Preferably each router normally makes its
decisions mainly by choosing the muter whose physical coordinate are closest
to the
target, and preferably takes into consideration other data, such as for
example
connectivity and/or bandwidth andlor current load for example only if two or
more
routers are almost the same distance from the target (within a certain margin)
or if
there are specific problems such as for example certain routers falling down
or
becoming overloaded beyond a certain threshold. This way, maximum efficiency
can be used for most routing decisions, and still higher flexibility can be
achieved
when the need for that arises. In these variations preferably the router can
either
choose the directly connected router (neighboring router) that is physically
closest to
the target (or one of the group that is closest), or choose one of the MAIN
routers
that are closest to the target area (such as for example routers 43, 44 and 45
in Fig.
lb). (In the first case, if the router does not find a directly connected
muter that is
closer to the target than itself, preferably it uses he second case). In the
second case
the assumption is made that each of the major routers is properly connected to
many
small routers in its area and will know how to further deal efficiently with
packets

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sent to its area. For example, there can be a few dozens or a few hundreds of
such
major routers around the Internet; each connected for example to hundreds or
thousands of smaller routers in its area. When choosing the closest MAIN
router,
again, there are a number of possible variations: For example (unless it is
within its
own general area) the router can regard the MAIN routers as the only relevant
routers and choose on each step one of the neighboring MAIN routers that is
physically closest in the direction of the target, and then use any of a
number of
possible routes that it knows best in advance for reaching that neighboring
MAIN
router directly or by any of the smaller routers that connect between them. So
in this
variation each muter preferably has already in its memory a list of best next
possible
hops or even best complete routes for reaching each of its neighboring MAIN
routers. Another variation is that each MAIN router preferably chooses as the
target
the MAIN router or one of the MAIN routers that is closest to the target area
out of
all the MAIN routers on the Internet, and if for example there are a few
hundreds
such MAIN routers, then each MAIN router preferably has for each such MAIN
router a list of best next possible hops or a list of best next neighboring
MAIN
routers for reaching the final destination MAIN router. However, the first of
these
last two variations is more preferable, since assuming proper connectivity
between
the MA1N routers, it is sufficient to reach one of the MAIN routers that is
closer to
the direction of the target area, and assume that it will know best what to do
next.
On the other hand, the second variation automatically avoids any loops, and
can also
work very efficiently if each of the MAIN routers has in advance lists of
possible
best next hop or hops (so that for examples if the next best hop is
unavailable there
are already known alternatives in advance) or even best complete routes for
reaching any of the other MAIN routers. In this case the MAIN router can for
example also add to the packet (or to a group of packets, as described in the
reference to Fig. lb) the identification of the next desired MAIN muter,
assuming
that the small routers on the way are supposed to know in advance how to reach
it or
add a mode detailed route of how to reach it (or even add in advance the route
by
listing all the MAIN routers that are on the way, but that is less efficient).
In other
words, in order to be able to efficiently route a packet, all you need to do
is find
which of the MAIN routers on the net is (or are) physically closest to it
(which is
instantenous, based on the coordinates), and to have in advance the knowledge
of
how to reach each of the for example a few hundred MAIN routers. In the above
variations, smaller routers (that are not considered to be one of the MAIN
routers)
can for example make their forwarding decisions in a similar way to the way
that the
main routers do, or for example forward packets that are going outside of the
general area served by the MAIN router which covers their area to that MAIN
router

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(or for example the next best MAIN routes if the best one has fallen or for
example
to other nearby MAIN routers) and let that MAIN routes make the routing
decision
for such packets. This means that preferably each small routes also has
constantly in
advance a list of one or more best next possible hops or even best complete
routes to
at least one of the MAIN routers closest to it (preferably at least to all its
neighboring MAIN routers, or even to all the MAIN routers), so it knows how to
reach them without having to make any routing decisions. (However, a choice of
next best hops is sufficient, assuming that all the other routers also know
the next
best hop or hops to the MAIN routes in their area, but if they don't know,
then
another possible variation is that the full route is forwarded to them, but
that would
be of course much less efficient). Of course, this is just an example of using
a 2-
level hierarchy, and actually there can be more than two levels, such as for
example
using also one or more levels of intermediate-level routers between small
routers
and MAIN routers. Preferably the higher a routes is on the hierarcy, it also
has more
bandwidth associated with it, or at least above a preferable minimum. Another
more
preferable variation is that the MAIN routers (and/or intermediary-level
routers) are
preferably also connected directly with high-bandwidth as peers between each
other
(at least each one to its more close neighbors, but preferably with many
redundancies and preferably connected directly also to remoter peers who are
at
least up to a few hops away, which further increases efficiency and increases
robustness if a MAIN routes falls for any reason, as shown for example in Fig.
lc)
without having to go through lower-level routers in order to reach their
peers, so that
once a higher-level routes (and especially if its one of the MAIN routers)
decides to
forward a packet (or a group of packets) to a higher-level peer, preferably
the
packets don't have to go through lower level routers. This can automatically
increase the likelihood of having higher bandwidth to the next peer and
automatically reduce the number of routing decisions needed in order to reach
the
next peer. This is similar to a hierarchical road-system, where for traveling
for
example between large towns broad highways with few or no junctures are used,
and intermediate and smaller roads and streets with much more junctures are
only
used for finding the more exact address within each area. And like driving in
the
real world; for example when someone is in one town and knows that he has to
travel to another town, he does not keep looking at each small juncture of
each street
where is the next street that goes in the right direction, but instead he
immediately
fords how to get to the inter-urban highway that will lead him directly to the
other
town with almost no junctures on the way. This is very different from the
current
state of the art in routers, which is much more similar to looking each time
for the
next juncture without being able to take advantage of a useful hierarchy.
Preferably,

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at least some MAIN roisters have broadband direct links also to farther MAIN
roisters and/or even to MAIN roisters at the other end of the Internet, so
that even
longest-distance routing can be done with a minimal number of hops. In other
words, if the Internet architecture is designed or redesigned in advance in a
smarter
manner, the making of routing decisions can become as simple and as fast as
possible. An example of a small part of such a hierarchy is shown for example
in
Fig. 1b. (Another possible variation is to put more than one MAIN roister at
each
central position, so that they hack-up each other, and/or enable the closest
roisters of
1-level below in the hierarchy to automatically assume the functions of a MAIN
roister if it was disabled until the problem is fixed). However, for making
the
transition to this architecture more efficient, preferably the current
structure of
backbones and higher bandwidth connections will be used for automatically
defining or helping to create at least part of the desired hierarchy
structure, since it
is reasonable that this already reflects the need for higher bandwidth where
it exists.
So preferably this can be determined for example by automatic statistical
analysis,
and after this initial structure is analyzed and the geographical position of
each
roister (or at least of the more significant roisters) is specified, a basic
geographical
hierarchy can be automatically defined according to this, and then later
improved for
achieving better optimizations, for example by finding and deciding where more
connections and/or more bandwidth are needed and adding them accordingly, and
deciding for example where more MAIN roisters are needed, and preferably
adding
for example bandwidth and more direct connections to roisters that are chosen
to
become MAIN roisters. Such analysis can be very useful also for other purposes
and
can be preferably automatically repeated often, for example for getting
constant
follow-ups over the growth of the net and the connectivity of various parts of
it and
for example for locating and fixing weak links or vulnerable junctions in
advance.
In order to further facilitate the conversion into the above described
hierarchies, and
since the net currently contains many interconnected independent networks that
are
connected between them on borders called NAPS (Network Access Points), which
are very problematic junctures, instead or in addition to such border
connections
which are at the edges between these networks, preferably, where needed, one
or
more MAIN roisters with high broadband direct contacts to them peers at other
networks will be added at the center or centers of each important network,
preferably while taking into consideration also the area each such network
covers,
and preferably also more direct links will be added along the borders between
such
networks, which is much easier according to the teachings of the present
invention,
since there is no more need for complex routing tables at these borders.
Similar
hierarchies and principles are preferably used also with wireless networks
and/or for

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example with other types of networks that might exist in the future. Another
possible variation is to add to the packet header for example also a label
naming the
desired final MAIN routes at the general target area. Preferably the routers
also use
various heuristics for preventing endless loops, for example by avoiding
sending a
packet back to the routes who sent it (and/or by collecting the list of
traversed
routers or main routers as a cumulative list added to the packet header,
however that
is less efficient). However, the above principles of looking for example for
the next
best MAIN routes (normally, or only if there is no closer directly connected
routes)
or looking directly for the final MAIN routes closest to the target, should
solve this
problem anyway. These heuristics are much more efficient than variations that
try at
each hop to mathematically compute the next shortest path, such as those
described
for example in the article by J.C. Navas & T. Imielinksi, "fin reducing the
computational cost of geographic routing" published on Jan. 24, 2000, at
http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/~navasldataman/pa~~ers/dcs-tr-408.pdf . Preferably,
the
physical addresses, such as for example GPS, can also be combined with some
additional non-physical codes, so that for example if there are a number of
computers in the same room or building (and especially if they are on top of
each
other), the additional code can distinguish between more than one computer
that
have the same GPS coordinates or between devices that are considered to be
within
a small-enough area according to certain thresholds (for example a few meters,
a
few hundred meters, few kilometers, or based also on the density of network-
connected devices per area, for example each group of closely spaced dozens or
hundreds of devices can share one set of physical coordinates). In this case
preferably only the closest routers or gateways next to these computers or
these
computers themselves (or other devices that are connected to the network) need
to
carry for example a local table with data that differentiates between devices
that
have exactly the same GPS (or are within the thresholds that define a single
area), or
use a local small routing-table system similar to what is being used today
globally
on the Internet. (Preferably the coordinates can include also height, so that
devices
will have the same GPS only if the computers or devices are really very
close).
However, for this to work properly and efficiently, preferably each device or
at least
each smallest area-unit according to the thresholds, is preferably connected
directly
to the routers that are closest to it physically (instead of indirectly
through a farther
routes). Another possible variation is for example that this is assumed to be
the rule,
and the routers indicate if they don't cover a certain area that they were
supposed to
cover normally, only as an exception. Another possible variation is for
example that
only the main routers use the physical addresses and within each smaller area
the
smaller routers either continue to use physical addresses up to smaller areas
(for

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example as defined above), or use a local routing-table system similar to what
is
being used today globally on the Internet. (This can be equivalent to using
for
example a known list or table of MAIN routers for packet forwarding andlor
using
for example an identification of the closest MAIN router as part of the IP
address.
However, in such a case, since MAIN routers can fall or be changed or nearby
routers can be added, such changes would require global updates of the
involved IP
addresses, so preferably the Identification of the MAIN router actually
contains
information about its area, so that any other MAIN routers that are added
nearby
preferably also assume the same or similar identification. Therefore, it is
clear that
this is much more efficient if at least each MAIN router's area is known,
which
means that practically physical addresses are used. On the other hand, if
there are
for example just 100 or a few hundred MAIN routers on the entire Internet,
then
changes in them would be rare and thus making global updates of TP addresses
that
contain as part of the address reference to the changed MAIN router would not
be a
big problem. In another variation, if the MAIN router is not included in the
IP
address, it might still be possible to take advantage of such a hierarchy at
least
partially also without knowing the physical locations, if for example routing
tables
are exchanged only or mainly between peers of the same level of the hierarchy,
so
that for example only the MAIN routers have to exchange global data between
them. But in such a case preferably each MAIN routers has a list of all the
lower
level routers in its area and can supply it to its same-level peers, and
preferably each
lower router has knowledge of the hierarchy above it). This can enable rapid
transition to the use of physical addresses even before all the routers
support this. In
this case, one possible variation is that normal network-connected devices
have a
cruder physical address (eventhough they are stationary, for example depending
on
the size of the smaller local areas), however more preferably they still have
a normal
GPS apart from their non-physical address, so that the local routers can later
start
using physical-addresses in even smaller local areas without the need for
changing
the physical addresses of the devices in these areas to more precise ones.
Also,
preferably, in ail of the above variations the devices have a normal IP
address (of
Ipv4 or Ipv6 or whatever other version will be used) in addition to the
physical
address, in order to be backward compatible with elements in the Internet that
still
do not deal properly with Physical addresses - at least for a transition
period until a
sufficient number of roisters support the routing by physical addresses. If
the
physical location of the target or the source changes, including for example
in the
case of mobile Internet-enabled phones and portable wirelessly connected
computers and/or other devices that might be connected in the future to the
Internet
(such as for example smart home or office gadgets, etc.), then preferably they
can
~. . ~~

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immediately determine their own GPS and update it in the appropriate extension
of
their IP address, or if they don't know it, then preferably they are
automatically
informed of it and update this field, for example by the first GPS aware
router or
cellular company's cell or cells that know that they are close to them.
Therefore,
preferably, all the cells of all the cellular companies should also be
constantly aware
of their own GPS. However, since the IP address of each Internet-connected
device
must be updated over Domain Name Servers in the Internet when it changes, for
efficiency considerations preferably there are different codes for typically
mobile
devices and typically stationary devices, so that since stationary device
change their
GPS only rarely, preferably their GPS is updated globally in the DNS system
when
they change location, whereas mobile devices preferably have only a cruder GPS
covering only their general area (or their state or country for example), and
when
they move beyond a certain minimal significant distance within their general
area,
preferably they update only the nearest cells (or are updated by the nearest
cells)
about their new GPS location so these changes do not propagate over the
Internet
but only locally. In this case preferably their crude GPS changes only when
they
move beyond their crude general area. (However, the decision making might
still
have to take into account some knowledge about the current loads and/or
accessibility and/or bandwidth of the other main routers, so preferably at
least when
needed such data is updated all the time at the decision making computers at
the
routers). Of course various combinations of the above variations are also
possible.
Another possible variation is to make additional pre-processing that groups
together packets that are going to the same general area, and use a general
destination tag for the entire group, and then preferably the group of packets
can be
treated by the routers of the main junctions like a single packet and treated
as
individual packets at the routers closer to the target. Also, preferably,
packets that
are smaller than a certain minimum are padded with extra trailing bits to
reach a
required minimum size (The need for this is explained below in the ref. to
Fig. 2).
Anyway, if the bit rate is very high, preferably these changes are done
previously
and these marks are also done previously electronically (such as for example
by
higher voltage or noticeable consecutive period of constant voltage} so that
no
computational processing of the data will be needed at this stage. These
lambdas are
then condensed through optical means (marked e-h) into the same optic fiber
(5) and
travel typically a large distance. It should be noticed that typically there
are more
than one optical fiber in each physical optic fibers bundle, so everything is
multiplied by the number of actual fibers. Typically there are also amplifiers
at
certain intervals for keeping the optical signals strong enough. Eventually
the optic

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fiber reaches the first router (6}, which is preferably a fast optic muter
such as for
example the routers developed by Trellis-Photonics or Lynx or other
demultiplexers,
for separating the lambdas each into a different target optic fiber (marked by
7-10).
These optic fibers then each reach the packet switching muter (marked 11-14)
that
works much more efficiently by optically detecting the marked target IP
addresses.
It should be emphasized that although this is a typical configuration today
(of course
with much more lambdas and much more optic fibers in each bundle), many
changes in this configuration can be made in the future. The distance between
the
first router (6) that separates the lambdas to the packet switching routers
(7, 8, 9, or
10) can be any distance, from near to far.
However configurations can also be conceived in which the fast packet
switching
is used even before separating the lambdas, for example if we start making
much
larger packets (such as for example for demanding visual communications), or
making additional pre-processing that groups together packets that are going
to the
same general area, and using a general destination tag for the entire group.
This
way, the whole group of lambdas or subgroups of them can behave like a single
channel with packet switching, but in this case preferably additional controls
are
used to ensure synchronization between the lambdas, such as for example
marking
the starting points of the packet headers in each lambda with long consecutive
marks, so that only one header needs to be interpreted but the exact position
can be
determined for each lambda. Other variations are also possible, such as for
example
using a number of subsets of lambdas each as a single channel with packet
switching. Since the propagation delay variation for example between lambdas
30
nanometers apart can be around 60 nanoseconds after traveling a 100
Kilometers, or
about 6 nano if dispersion compensation fibers are used, then for example
after
traveling 7,000 km for example in a submarine cable, the delay variation will
be
4200 nano, or 420 nano if dispersion compensation fibers are used. Therefore,
for
example with a typical frequency of 10 Gigabits per second for each lambda at
the
current state-of the-art broadcast rates, about 10 bits per nanosecond are
passing in
each lambda at a given point on the fiber, so this can cause a deviation of
4,200 bits
= 525 Bytes between the lambdas that are 30 nm apart. This means that if we
use
more than one lambda as a single channel, preferably subsets of lambdas closer
to
each other are used, and/or the length of the long marker is preferably for
example
at least a few thousands of bits long. Another possible solution is to use the
method
of duplicating the bit stream (explained below in the ref. to Fig. 2) and
making sure
that each packet is at least long enough so that we have a long enough slack
area.
This way, the muter need only look at one of the headers, preferably the
header of
.... ..~a~~

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the fastest lambda, for making the routing decisions, and the exact positions
of the
headers of the other lambdas need to be determined only at the destination or
for
example at routers at the periphery which have to convert it to electronic
signals for
the non-optical peripheral part of the network. Another possible variation of
this is
that preferably the slowest lambda in the group is also extracted, in order to
find the
size of the gap between it and the fastest lambda in the group in order to
make sure
that the slack area is within limits. Another possible solution in this case
is to
separate the lambdas at the routes (or for example only the most divergent
ones) and
determine the starting position of each lambda's header at the routes, but use
only
the first header that comes in (preferably the one from the fastest lambda)
for
making the packet-switching decision, and then applying the same routing
decision
to all the iambdas in the group. Of course, various combinations of these
solutions
can also be used. In the other direction - another possible variation is for
example to
regard more than one optic fiber as a single channel for packet switching,
but, again,
in such a case additional controls may be needed to ensure synchronization
between
the lambdas in each fiber and between the fibers that are used as one channel.
Preferably, in such a case, the delay circuit can contain for example more
than one
fiber in parallel, or a number of delay circuits can be used in parallel - one
for each
fiber, but the packet switching decision made for one of the fibers would be
applied
automatically to all the fibers that belong to the same subset. (In this case,
if other
temporary optical storage method or methods are used, the data from more than
one
fiber is preferably similarly stored together or in parallel). It is also
possible, for
example, to optically duplicate the entire group of lambdas entering the muter
into
as many copies as needed, and then various combinations of decisions can be
made
based both on separating lambdas and on packet switching or other combinations
of
various kinds of mixed protocols. Another possible variation is to add also
for
example something like an automatic cache memory to the routes, so that, since
usually a number of packets belonging to the same communication may reach the
routes within a short time interval, the routes can rernernber and use the
same
routing decision for other packets that are going to the same target (and/or
for
example to the same general area, if physical addresses are used). This and
other
features can also be used independently of the other features of this
invention.
Referring to fig. lb, we show in another possible variation, a preferable
optimization of making additional pre-processing that automatically checks and
identifies packets of identical data if they are corning from the same
Internet page
(for example from server 41) and going to the same general axea (for example
area
51 ) (for example within a small pre-defined time window) and can group them
-...~ a-a,a~.,-,~,.,-~";.,~~..q,~xya nes , .. . .. .~«....~

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together so that the body of the data is sent only once and for example the
first part
of the packet for example has a special additional data part that contains the
actual
list of targets. (Preferably in one of the possible embodiments this special
part can
also be marked differently optically, for example with fat bits, in order to
make it
easier for the router to read and rewrite this part on the fly as needed, but
in this case
preferably these bits are less fat than the bits of the real packet header, in
order to
avoid confusion. Another variation is using normal bits for this data). In
this case
preferably there is a special mark in the header that tells the routers on the
way (for
example router 42a) that this packet is actually a condensation of more than
one
identical data packet. As the condensed packet reaches the general area (for
example
area 51), it is preferably separated back by duplicating into separate
packets, each
with its original target restored in the header, or, in another variation,
separated into
similar grouped packets but with a smaller number of targets and a mare
precise
general united target area, and further distributed from there (for example by
routers
41 a-c), and later broken down into the individual packets. This saves both
bandwidth and the number of routing decisions needed on the way, since only a
single copy of the identical data is sent in each group, and this is why this
can be
called condensed packets: Of course this grouping and ungrouping according to
destination areas can be only done efficiently in the next generation
Internet, by
using the physical part of the address, preferably GPS coordinates.
Preferably, the
physical address system is implemented as described in the reference to Fig.
1.
Preferably, the decision when to break down the packets into smaller groups or
into
individual packets can be done for example as a simple function of the amount
of
distance between the target area's physical coordinates and the router's
physical
coordinates, or the router for example decides to break up a group if there
are no
other main routers with coordinates closer to the coordinates of the general
target
area. (Another possible variation is to take into consideration for example
also the
connectivity and/or bandwidth and/or current loads of various routes at the
time of
making the decision, as defined already in the reference to Fig. 1). For the
actual
breaking-up, in electrical routers there is no problem to manipulate the data;
and in
optical routers preferably the extended header (that contains also the list of
targets)
is preferably read along with the real header for processing, and then for
breaking up
the grouped packets, they are preferably optically duplicated and the new
headers
inserted for each sub-group or individual packet created. (However, in the
meantime
until the physical address system becomes available, it can be done,
preferably in
another embodiment, although less efficiently, by using for example trace-
route
information of the request for the data, so that packets are grouped together
based on
the routers through which the request for the data traveled or originated. For
this

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purpose, packets that travel on the Internet, or preferably at least for
example the
small packets of requests for data typically generated by Internet browsers;
can for
example accumulate along the way the list of the routers through which the
request
passed and deliver this information to the server, and so when sending back
the data,
the server can for example automatically regard requests as belonging to the
same
general area by identifying common routers in their lists of traversed
routers). This
can be very useful for example for optimizing the access to very popular sites
such
as for example Yahoo or CNN (or for example sites such as for example large
legal
MP3 sites, legal online movie sites, large shareware sites, etc.), in a way
similar to a
caching proxy, except that it can be done automatically even when the user
does not
work through a specific proxy. However, this is even more useful than ordinary
proxies since it can be used also for example for more efficiently
transferring
streaming data, such as for example from Internet radio stations, large-scale
e-
learning classrooms or video conferences, or even for example Internet TV
stations
which will probably exist in the next years, a thing which ordinary proxies
cannot
do. However, comparing the data of packets if their header says that they come
from
the same source and go to the same general target area in order to see if
their data is
identical is not efficient, so preferably this packing together of same
packets with
multiple targets is done already by the server itself (41 ) (This can be for
example an
additional protocol that sits on the normal TCP/IP or for example UDP or other
protocol for example by using part of the united data packet as an extended
part of
the header which contains the list of actual target addresses). This way, the
server
(41 ) can either send only one copy of each data packet with all the list of
target
addresses included, to the nearest router or MAIN router (for example 42) that
can
handle it, or more preferably for example prepare a number of separate copies
each
already grouped by at least some level of general division of areas. So for
example
if the site is an Internet Radio or TV station, and for example there are
100,000
people in Israel who want to view it at the same time, the same streaming data
can
be automatically sent to Israel (51) just once, and automatically divided into
targets
by the routers (41 a-4.I c) in Israel. (So if Israel is for example the
general target area
(51), until the combined packet reaches this area, all the routers on the way
don't
have to look at all at the packed list of targets). Preferably in this case
much larger
packets sizes can also be used, in order to further increase the efficiency of
handling
the distribution, especially if the list of targets is so large, so that
preferably the
header is still much smaller than the actual data part of the packet. With the
aid of
an additional slight variation this can be even used for example for very
efficient
video-on-demand or radio-on-demand, by having for example a number of sub-
parts
in the Internet radio or TV stations, so that each sub-part has different
transmission

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times for example with jumps of 10 minutes between them, so that the user for
example does not need to wait more than 10 minutes for viewing a certain
choice of
movies. Of course, as the Internet becomes faster, the transmission speed can
be
much faster than the actual movie time, so for example the entire movie can be
broadcast in a few minutes or even seconds, which would make the idea of
waiting
for example 10 minutes obsolete, so the waiting will be mainly just for
filling the
preferably short time window so that the server can gather enough target
addresses
for packing the packets together. (However, the transmission speed is for
example
limited when broadcasting live from an Internet TV station). Another possible
variation is that streaming data such as for example TV or radio broadcast or
e-
learning broadcast or video conference over the Internet will have a special
status,
so that the server can easily keep a list of hooked "audiences" (for example
by
assuming a certain minimum time of attendance) in order to be able to more
efficiently use the same list of target addresses for multiple packets. This
is
somewhat similar to the way that e-mail with multiple addressees is currently
handled, except that it is much more efficient in grouping and ungrouping
according
to general destination areas (since in the current state-of the-art the POP
mail server
practically sends together only e-mails that are going to the same domain),
and it
can be applied to many types of data, in addition to e-mails. This means of
course
that apart for more efficient access to popular sites and for example more
efficient
Internet TV or radio stations, this can be used for example also for sending
much
more efficiently automatic software updates or patches for example for
programs
(such as for example the large browsers), much more efficient automatic
pushing or
distribution of various data (including for example electronic versions of
newspapers, collected information according to subjects of interest, automatic
selections of media information according to interests, etc.) for example to
groups of
subscribers (for example on the Internet and/or to cellular phones or mobile
computers over cellular networks), more efficient propagation of Internet
Newsgroups data or any other data between servers, including for example the
propagation of the DNS (Domain Name System) tables (the tables that link
between
domain names and the numerical addresses), etc. By sending out the data to
everyone at the same time the ei~ciency is made even higher because it takes
advantage of the optimization to the fullest. This way Internet high loads can
be
handled much more efficiently, and it has very high scaleability, so that even
huge
overloads on a single site are automatically handled extremely efficiently by
using
the very fact that the site is requested by a large number of users in order
to send out
the data much more efficiently. At least in some aspects, this may work also
more
efficiently than load distribution systems such as for example Akamai, or at
least

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further improve them when applied in addition to them, because: A. These
systems
cover only part of the route from the server to the target, whereas the new
system
and method described here can extend automatically longer along the route. B.
These system are limited to a finite number of predefined areas where
additional
servers are positioned, whereas the new system and method is automatically
much
more dynamic. C. These systems cannot handle dynamic data at present because
of
synchronization problems, whereas the new system and method can. D. Systems
such as for example Akamai help only a set of servers who specifically request
the
service and pay for it, whereas the new system and method can work
automatically
for any server that supports it. Of course it can work even more efficiently
when it is
applied in addition to the current state of the art load distribution systems,
such as
for example Akamai. Also, preferably load distribution systems like A,kamai
and/or
various caching systems will be optimized by placing mirror servers and/or
proxies
especially at close proximity to the MAIN routers and preferably also near to
lower-
level central routers on the hierrachies. Another preferably improvement is
that
when updates are initiated from the source of the data to the mirror sites,
they are
preferably distributed to all of them at the same time, thus automatically
utilizing
the optimization of routing together packets going to the same general areas
or
directions. A further variation of this is that data such as for example
streaming
audio and streaming video (such as for example from Internet TV stations) can
also
preferably be constantly updated this way between the origin of the data to
the main
centers and/or sub-centers even before any user asks for them. Another
possible
variation is that when combining the new system with load distribution systems
like
Akamai (and especially when broadcasting streaming data such as far example
video or TV), preferably the load distribution systems try to keep the users
as much
as possible on the same server after assigning the closest server to them,
without
unnecessary switching between servers according to load, in order to enable
more
consistency in sending the data to the same hooked audiences. This is also
easier to
accomplish because the new system automatically reduces the load anyway
without
needing to continuously move users around servers according to load. Another
possible variation is that when downloading for example very large files, such
as for
example large video files {such as for example popular movies or movie
trailers),
MP3 files, popular software files, etc., the server can combine together in
the united
packets also requests that came after the original time window, so that for
example
new requests might be combined with older requests and thus get first a later
part of
the file and then get earlier parts of the file later. Another possible
variation is that
preferably the server (andJor routers along the way) can also group together
non-
identical packets (such as for example packets from different sources or a
number of

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different condensed packets of the type described above) going in the same
general
area with a combined header or general area tag, although in this case the
different
packets or groups of condensed packets can not be further condensed to a
single
copy of the data, so the saving is only on the number of headers that need to
be
processed along the way for making routing decisions. Such groups of different
packets going in the same direction are also then preferably similarly (like
in the
mechanism described above) broken down into smaller groups by the routers in
the
general target area and finally broken down to individual data packets for
delivering
to the final actual destinations. So this can be considered an improvement of
current
MPLS (Multiple Protocol Label systems). Another possible variation is to use,
preferably in addition to the above described options, also proxies which are
able to
support also streaming data. This can be accomplished for example by using in
the
proxy a time window (or buffer) like the time window described above for the
servers, so that the proxy for example combines all the requests for the same
data
that arrive within the time window and requests the data just once and then
sends it
back to the IP addresses that requested it. Another possible variation is that
the
proxy first gets the streaming data the first time it is requested and then
waits and
keeps the data at least for the specified time window to see if there are
additional
requests for it. This way the data can be sent to the requesters even before
the time
window is over. On the other hand, if there are many requests, it may be even
more
efficient if the proxy itself then sends the data as a united package with the
list of
targets, as in the optimization described above. And this can be even more
efficient
if it is used in addition or in combination with load distribution systems
such as for
example Akamai. Another possible variation is that at least some proxies (for
example proxies that are preferably at or near the MAIN routers andlor for
example
special proxies dedicated to streaming data) are also able to keep streaming
data for
an even longer time window, for example in one or more circular buffers for a
few
minutes or even for example half an hour or more, and thus enable users also
to
request for example instant replay and/or retroactive recording even after the
event
has started. This way, for example if the user tunes in to an Internet Radio
or TV
station and fords a fascinating program or song but has missed the start of it
(or even
if helshe hasn't missed the start but decides to record it only afterwards) or
for
example misses the start of a live lecture in a large scale video-conference
or e-
learning session, preferably he/she can request to replay and/or save a copy
of it
from the start of the program or event (as long as it is within the time
window limit)
and then the proxy can send the user the retroactive data. This way users can
request
for example instant replay and/or retroactive recording even if the user
hasn't been
tuned in to that streaming data or source before. When requesting any of these

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options preferably the user can either specify how many minutes ago to start
the
replay and/or retroactive recording, or for example request to jump back in a
number of steps until he/she finds the start, or request to automatically go
back to
the start of the event, and in that case preferably the proxy can
automatically
identify the beginning of events; such as for example song or program (for
example
by content analysis but more preferably by a code which is broadcast along
with
each event and preferably identifies both the name and type of the event and
its
beginning and end). Another possible variation is that different time windows
can be
used for different events (such as for example only up to a few minutes for a
song
and for example up to half an hour for TV programs or lectures). Another
possible
variation is that certain events for example carry also a code specifying the
requested time window for that event; so that for example for more important
events
the proxies can be requested by the source of the streaming data to allow a
longer
retroactive time window. Of course, another possible variation is that in
addition or
instead the sources of the streaming data themselves also keep such temporal
buffers
and similarly allow users to request instant replays up to a certain time
limit after the
start of events. Another possible variation is to allow the replay in larger
jumps,
such as for example 15 or 30 minutes into the past, so that many users can
view it at
the same time, thus saving bandwidth by using more combined packets. Another
possible variation is, like with the example of transferring large files, that
for
example even if users don't want to start viewing at exactly the same time,
requests
for data can be combined even if some users start at a later point, and then
for
example only the missing starting parts are transferred separately to each
user,
preferably while at the same time the common parts are transferred
simultaneously
in combined packets to many users in the same general area. Another possible
variation of this is that at least some of the main routers can also function
as such
proxies themselves. This means that when these routers also act as proxies,
they are
preferably able to cache data and preferably also able to create by themselves
combined packages in an efftcient manner like when the server itself creates
it.
Preferably this can be done for example both in optical and non-optical
routers, but
if it is done in optical routers, then preferably the cached data is optically
stored for
example in delay lines and/or some type of optical memory for temporary
storing of
packets data, such as for example holographic memory, or for example the newly
discovered methods for considerably slowing light for example in chilled
Sodium
gas, or stopping it for example in Rubidium gas with the help of additional
laser
beam or beams, and then releasing the light again at will. Another possible
variation
is to store such cached data in normal RAM or electromagnetic storage also in
optical routers, since typically such cache data may need to be stored for
longer time

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windows than the times needed for making routing decisions. The above
optimizations can be done also independently of the other features described
in the
present invention, and also non-optical routers can deal with it. However in
non-
optical routers preferably the headers (or parts of them) are also marked
electronically (or at least logically) so that the router can more easily
access them
without having to go through the data part of the packet except when needed.
This
optimization can work similarly also in other Networks of interconnected
devices
such as for example with Mobile Internet-connected devices, such as for
example
cellular phones or palm devices or mobile computers connected through cellular
networks, especially when they will have also at least a crude general-area
GPS.
Preferably in this case at least part of this optimization is continued also
for example
by the cellular company's cells and/or by special routers so that the
optimization can
continue up to the level of cells or groups of cells. This can be very useful
for
example in the 3rd generation cellular networks, since they will need to
support also
more heavy traffic such as for example streaming video, etc.
Referring to Fig, lc, we show a simplified illustration of a preferable
example of
connections between a small number of MAIN routers (101-118). For simplicity,
only a small number of MAIN routers are shown, and no intermediary or lower-
level routers and their links are shown, but in reality, as explained in the
reference to
Fig.l, preferably between the MAIN routers there are also interconnected
intermediary and lower-level routers, which reach smaller parts in each area,
and
there can be more than two levels in the hierarc~, such as for example using
also
one or mare levels of intermediate-level routers between small routers and
MAIN
routers. As explained already in the reference to Fig. 1, the MAIN routers are
preferably also connected directly with high-bandwidth as peers between each
other
(at least each one to its more close neighbors, but preferably with many
redundancies and preferably connected directly also to remoter peers who are
at
least up to a few hops away or even for example on the other side of the
Internet,
which further increases efficiency and increases robustness if a MAIN muter
falls
for any reason) without having to go through lower-level routers in order to
reach
their peers, so that once a higher-level muter (and especially if its one of
the MAIN
routers) decides to forward a packet (or a group of packets) to a higher-level
peer,
preferably the packets don't have to go through lower level routers. This can
automatically increase the likelihood of having higher bandwidth to the next
peer
and automatically reduce the number of routing decisions needed in order to
reach
the next peer. This drawing shows only MAIN routers, which are at the highest
levels of the hierarchy, but as explained in the reference to Fig. 1, similar
principles

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can preferably apply also to intermediary-level routers in the hierarchy. For
simplicity, each link is shown as a single line, but for redundancy each link
can be
for example based on a number of actual connections, not necessarily going
through
the same route.
Referring to Fig. 2, an optic fiber (or more than 1 fiber) (21), preferably
carrying a
single lambda (after the lambdas have been separated each to a different optic
fiber),
enters the optical detector for the marked target addresses (22). Preferably
this is
done by optically duplicating the bit stream from the fiber into two or more
branches, so that reading the signals does not disrupt the optical bit stream.
The
detection is preferably done with a very fast and sensitive photo-diode or
photo
transistor, which detects the optically obtrusive mark and then extracts only
the
relevant bits that follow it. The detector (22) preferably translates the
target address
bits to electronic bits for processing by electronic computer or computers
(26), with
single or multiple processors, but this can also be done for example with a
photonic
computer (such computers might become available within the next few years),
and
in that case the translation to electronic bits is not needed. The extracted
target
addresses (24) are transferred to the computer or computers (26) for analyzing
with
the database and making the packet switching decisions, while the light bits
are
preferably passed through a delay circuit (23). This can be done, for example,
by
using a spiral of up to a few kilometers of optic fiber, preferably rolled
around an
element of the router. So, for example, since the speed of light is approx.
300,000
km per second, the time the light spends in a muter with a length of 1 meter
is
approx. 3.33 nanoseconds, and by forcing the light to go for example through
an
optic fiber spiral of 3 kilometers, the time for making packet switching
decisions
will be increased from 3.33 nanoseconds to 10 microseconds. By using for
example
a bundle of 10 or 100 optic fibers within the same jacket of the delay circuit
and
forcing the light to go through all of them serially, this factor can be
increased 10 or
100 times. However, it is preferable to use for the delay spiral optical
fibers without
the jacket or with a very thin jacket (such as for example very thin plastic
coating),
and preferably only cover the entire spiral or larger parts of it with a
protective
jacket. Another possible solution is for example to use a solid stable box of
mirrors
in which the light will travel at certain angles so as to create a very long
path until
coming out again. But the previous solution is much easier and safer to
implement.
The faster the processing speed that is established, the smaller the delay
needed.
Preferably, the router is able to choose among a number of delays, preferably
by
being able to choose one of a number of entry points into the delay circuit.
So, for
example, if the computing power has been significantly increased, or the

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computational requirements have been decreased by using some pre-processing of
the target addresses and general destination labels or by using physical
addresses as
described above, the same router can easily start supporting smaller delay
times.
Preferably, the fibers in the spirals are protected from possible cross-talk
for
example by coating them in a thin layer of dark opaque color. If the spiral is
very
long, for example a few dozens of kilometers or more, preferably it might
include
also amplification for example by Erbium or Raman amplifiers, in order to
correct
for the attenuation of the signals. Other possible variations are to use for
example
some type of optical memory for temporary storing of packets data, such as for
example holographic memory, ox for example the newly discovered methods for
considerably slowing light for example in chilled Sodium gas, or stopping it
for
example in Rubidium gas with the help of additional laser beam or beams, and
then
releasing the light again at will. Various combinations of these or similar
solutions
could also be used. More than one detector for the optical marks may be used
for
increasing speed or reliability. The packet routing decisions (28) are then
transferred
into a fast optical router (29) while the light bits are entered into the
optical router
(29) through optic fiber (27). The fast optical router (29) preferably uses
fast optical
switches such as for example those developed by Trellis-Photonics or Lynx, for
routing the light bits into the requested output fibers (30) without ever
converting
them into electricity and back. If an optical switch like the one by Trellis-
Photanics
is used, then preferably it is a variation of that technology that does not
depend on
wavelength but simply activates one of a set of holograms on command, to
transfer
the incoming bit stream to the desired destination outlet. Another variation
is that
the command to this switch takes into account the lambda of the bit stream
being
processed. Another variation could be to shift the wavelength by optical means
to
whatever is more convenient, which might be needed in configurations where
more
than one input fibers have to compete for the same output fibers and there are
collisions between outgoing lambdas, as explained later below. Preferably, the
packet routing instructions (28) can tell the router (29) where each packet
begins
and ends for example by specifying the exact time frame for each packet.
Preferably, at the optical router (29) an additional target IP address mark
detector
(20) is positioned in order to find again the same marks for ensuring correct
synchronization between the packet switching instructions and light bits.
Another problem is that since the fast optical routers (29), such as for
example
those by Trellis-Photonics or by Lynx, currently require at least a few
nanoseconds
for response time, they will not be able to cut the packets at the exact bit
positions
on the boundary between each two packets, if the bit rate is too high. This
does not

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necessarily mean that the entire response delay is translated into a "cutting"
error,
since part of the delay can perhaps be compensated for by shifting the "cut"
command a little eaxlier in time, taking into account the delay in response.
The
easiest way to solve this is to use solution number 4 or 5 and put the
noticeable
consecutive period of light (in solution 5) or no light (in solution 4) at the
beginning
of the packet and make this period long enough to compensate for any errors
caused
by the response time of the router. So for example, if the "cutting knife" is
500
times cruder then the point it has to cut, then we preferably make the
consecutive
period at the length of at least a 1400 bits, in order to take into account
this margin
of error. However, this only ensures the integrity of the packet itself,
whereas the
long mark can be partially truncated in the process. So it is possible to use
this
solution only if appropriate measures are taken to lengthen the mark again at
each
"cut point". 'This can be done for example if the routing switch itself in the
router
(29) is automatically programmed to add a similar long mark on the point that
it cuts
before letting the bit stream pass. (For example, upon receiving the "cut
command",
the muter can route the packet bit stream into a very short delay circuit,
insert into
the output channel a stream of constant light for the mark, and route the
packet bit
stream into the output chapel). This means, however, that the exact length of
the
marks can change as they pass various routers on the way, so the mark
detectors
(22) need to know this and look first for the end of the mark before starting
to
extract data. Also, during the unstable period of the response time, the added
mark
might not be stitched properly, so there might be some "garbage" before and
after
the added mark, and the mark detector needs to take this also into account.
Also, it
might be possible to avoid or at least minimize these "bad stitches" by using
overlap
with the constant light during the unstable period. However, this example has
assumed that the long mark is a consecutive period of light. On the other
hand, if the
long mark is a consecutive period of darkness, no additional beam of light is
needed,
and the stitch can be much cleaner. in the case of using darkness, there is an
additional problem that periods of silence (no transmission) may look like the
darkness mark, but this is very easy to solve, since the mark detector regards
the
packet anyway as beginning only after the darkness ends. However, this might
not
be enough, since the address processing protocol might require also adding or
changing data, such as for example adding a MAC header to the packet in the
data
link layer (layer 2) or changing the MAC header. In order to enable this, the
newly
inserted mark preferably also carries information, by using for example fatter
bits.
This way, any data that needs to be added or changed at the router (29) can be
included in this mark. (This can be done also for other layers, if needed).
Another
possible solution is to duplicate the light by optical means, preferably
before

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entering the fast optical router (29); so that we have at least 2 copies of
the light bit
stream. Assuming for example that the margin of "cutting" error is about 500
bits,
and we have to make a cut between packets a and b, so preferably we send for
example 1000 additional bits to the route where packet a is going after the
logical
end of packet a, taking these bits from the first copy of the bit stream, and
we use
the 2"a copy of the bit stream to start sending bits to the route where packet
b is
going, for example 1000 bits before the logical start of packet b. In other
words, in
this solution one of the bit stream copies is used for routing the even
packets (and is
regarding the odd packets as slack area) and another copy of the bit stream is
used
for routing all the odd packets (and is regarding the even packets as slack
area). In
this solution the surplus bits from the slack area are preferably later
discarded or
ignored. This solution for this example assumes that the size of each packet
is at
least 1000 bits long, so packets shorter than this are preferably padded in
advance
with appropriate trailing bits. If the router also needs to add or change some
data,
then the previously described mechanism for adding or changing data or a
similar
mechanism has to be used also in this solution. (Another possible variation of
this
solution is to use alternating polaxizations for the odd and even packets in
each
lambda, as described at the end of solution no. 6 in the summary of the
invention. In
this case, using appropriate polarization filters can automatically get rid of
the
surplus bits from the slack areas. Another possible variation of this solution
is to use
alternating wavelengths for the odd and even packets in each lambda, as
described
at the end of solution no. 2 in the summary. In this case, using appropriate
wavelength filters can automatically get rid of the surplus bits from the
slack areas.
However, these two variations are problematic and less desirable). Another
problem
is that all of these solutions are adding extra data at the cutting points
(either in the
form of the long consecutive mark or in the form of normal bits). Of course
the
error-correction layer (typically layer 2) should be aware of this so that it
will not be
confused by the extra data. Anyway, the extra data causes no confusion in the
solution of using long marks, because the packet always begins after the mark
ends.
In the other solution, the extra bits also should not cause confusion because
we have
a mark for the beginning of each packet, and the packet header contains
information
about its size, so the "garbage" data can be easily ignored. Preferably, the
garbage
data is eventually discarded before exiting the system of routers that comply
with
the present invention. However, since extra bits are added at every router in
this
system between each two packets, the amount of "garbage data" can accumulate.
This is not such a big problem, since assuming for example even up to 100
routers
between the origin to the target and a garbage size of up to 1000 bits as in
our
example (the exact amount depends on the ratio between the response time of
the

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roofer (29) and the speed of the bit stream, and changes of course each time
according to the actual "cutting error"), each packet can accumulate at most
100,000
bits of garbage on the way, which are about 12.5 Kilobytes. Since packet size
will
typically increase as the network gets faster and faster, this is not a big
problem. The
problem is even smaller, since usually much less than 100 roofers are needed
between any two points on the Internet, typically no more than 20 roofers. (By
the
way, if we assume an average of 20 of our roofers on the way between any two
points on the Internet, each for example with a 3000 meters delay circuit,
then the
total delay caused by these roofers is about the time it takes the light to
travel
300,000 meters=300 kilometers, in other words just 0.2 milliseconds delay for
the
entire journey). So one solution is to do nothing about controlling the amount
of
accumulated "garbage". However, it is also possible to make sure that the
garbage
does not increase significantly beyond the needed safety margin: In the long
mark
solution, preferably the mark detector (22) simply reports to the decision
making
computer (26) also the size of the mark, and then if the size of the mark is
already
large enough {for example, twice or more of the normal size), preferably the
"cutting" roofer (29) can be told in this case to add a smaller mark or no
mark at all.
(Another possible variation is the reverse of this: Starting with a mark long
enough
for being cut for example by 20 roofers, and increasing the mark only if it
becomes
too short). However, if the mark is used also to write new information at the
roofer,
or to change information, such as for example the MAC header, preferably by
using
for example fat bits in the mark, then the mark has to be written even if the
prevous
mark is already long enough, so the length control is preferably done in this
case by
giving the "cut" command earlier, so the new mark will overwrite part of the
older
mark. However, to avoid confusion between info written in the new mark and
info
written in the old mark, the procedure preferably makes sure that the new mark
will
always overwrite the old mark in a way the bits of the new mark will always
start
before the bits of the old mark. In the solution that duplicates the bit
stream and uses
the adjacent packets as slack area, so that the packets become separated by
"garbage
bits", preferably the mark detector (22) extracts from the header also the
bytes
representing the packet size and preferably also reports the distance till the
next
packet, and so the decision making computer (26) can decide if the garbage is
already too long, and then preferably tell the roofer {29) to add less or no
slack bits
in this case by making the cut at the end of the packet earlier. This will
usually not
significantly delay the computer (26) since typically the detector (22) can
tell the
computer (26) what is the distance to the next packet long before the computer
(26)
has made its routing decision. Of course, the method of using long marks can
be
combined with the method of duplicating the bit stream. Also, preferably the
roofer

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(29) is also able to drop packets (when needed for example because of network
congestion) or delete any other data, which is very easy for example by simply
routing discarded data to a dump line. It is possible to mark also the end of
packets,
but it is much more efficient to use the packet size from the header for
finding the
correct size.
Of course, various integrations or separations of various elements of this
invention
can be made, so that for example using stronger parallel computers might
enable the
decision making computer (26) for example to give services to more than one
lambda at the same time. In the other direction, assuming for example an
average
queue of 40 packets traveling in the delay circuit (23) at the same time,
either 1
computer (with single or multiple processors) makes the packet switching
decisions
for these packets, or more than one computer is used there so that the load
can be
divided. The length of the delay circuit (23) and the size of the packets
determine of
course the number of packets in the delay circuit at the same time. However,
with
the current state-of the-art rate of about 10 Gigabits per second per lambda,
each bit
is the size of about 30 mm, so a delay circuit of 3000 meters (= 3 million mm)
contains 100,000 bits, which are 12.5 Kilobytes, and a delay circuit of 30 km
contains 125 Kbytes. Therefore, especially as the traffic goes bigger and the
packet
size increases, there will probably be just 1 or a few packets at a time in
the delay
circuit, at least until the bit rate increases considerably. One of the
advantages of the
present invention is that it is very easily scaleable and its speed depends
much more
on the number of packet headers it has to deal with than on the speed of the
bit
stream, so that for example as the Internet grows and trafFc carries heavier
data,
such as for example Video, virtual reality data, ete., preferably much larger
packets
will be used compared to the typical packet sizes today. So, for example, if
the
Internet becomes a 100 times faster and the average packet sizes become a 100
times larger, the routers of the present invention will still be able to
handle very
efficiently this much faster bit rate. Additionally, if the entire packet
header or at
least the important parts of it are also encoded in fat bits (compared to the
rest of the
data), the system will be able to handle the header easily even if the bit
stream
becomes extremely fast. Another possible variation of this is that if the bit-
rate of
the data becomes extremely fast, preferably the error correction layer or
layers can
also postpone checking and dealing with errors to a later point after the
router. So,
for exarr~le, if much faster bit rates per lambda are accomplished, for
example by
using much shorter wavelengths, the router can handle the fat bits of the
headers
even if the bit-rate of the data itself becomes so fast that the router can't
even read
it. This makes this solution very desirable. Preferably, if fat bits are used
both in

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front of the header and in the header, the mark in front of the header uses a
different
fatness level, to avoid confusion with the header. An additional advantage of
the
present invention is that the use of the delay circuit like a production line
enables us
to handle even packets that are bigger than the size of the delay circuit.
On the other hand, if more than one input fibers are sharing the same output
fibers, we need to add some limitations and additional mechanisms for handling
problems when more than one packets with the same wavelength (or group of
wavelengths, if we use more than one lambda as a single channel) need to enter
the
same exit fiber before the other one finished passing. There are a number of
possible
solutions for this: 1. Use at least a few fibers for each destination route
and possibly
also for each source route. This way we have more flexibility in choosing
alternative
output fibers in such cases of collision and more statistical chance of
solving it like
this, and as the Internet grows, more fibers will be used anyway for each
route.
Another possible variation of this is to have also spare output fibers that
can be used
for example in cases of high overload. 2. Convert, preferably by optical means
(such
as for example interferometric cross-phase modulation wavelength converters
that
use semiconductor optical amplifiers), at least one of the colliding bit
streams into
another available lambda within the range of usual lambdas. Another variation
of
this is for example in times of high overload; to use also conversion to some
additional lambdas which are not normally used. This can be done for example
by
using a series of one or more quantum-cascade lasers; which can give high-
efficiency in almost any desired frequency in the near infra-red range (750-
2600
nano) and using the original bit stream as a pump for boosting a signal of a
nearby
frequency; and, if more than one step is needed; then in the next step the
amplified
signal can be used as the new amplification pump. This conversion might be
done
for example by letting the relevant bits streams pass through special flexible
or fixed
converters, or by routing them to special delay liuxes which contain also the
converters. This solution is of caurse irrelevant if all of the lambdas are
used as a
single channel (unless for example Raman amplifiers are used instead or in
addition
to Erbium amplifiers, and so a whole range or ranges of alternate lambdas are
available), but might he at least partially possible if only subsets of the
lambdas are
used as single channels. 3. Preferably only in such cases of collision, at
least one of
the colliding bit streams is routed into one or more additional delay circuits
(or, if
optical memory is used, temporarily stored in one of the available optical
memories), hoping that by the time it comes out the collision problem will no
longer
exist. Preferably, if the collision is not solved for example after a certain
amount of
time or a certain number of delays, the problematic packet or packets can be

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dropped for example by routing them into a dump line. Preferably, available
free
delay lines (or optical memory) are not limited to specific fibers but can be
used by
any of the fibers on a need basis. Preferably there are a large number of
spare delay
circuits for cases of traffic overload, and preferably a large range of sizes
of them is
available, so that the length of the delay line can be chosen for example
according to
the length of the colliding packets that are currently occupying the needed
output
channel or channels. (For example, spirals of 10-micron fibers with lengths of
thousands of kilometers without jackets can occupy very little space, so
thousands
of them can easily fit together, either in separate or in parallel spirals).
4. Use other
optical separators to prevent bit streams of the same lambda entering the same
output fiber from causing problems for each other, such as for example using
one or
more different polarizations in such cases, preferably by letting the
colliding bit
streams pass though appropriate polarization filters. However, in this case
preferably polarization-retaining fibers are used. Of course, all of these
solutions
preferably require taking into account concurrently the situation in all the
output
fibers. Various combinations of these solutions can also be used.
Fig. 3 is a schematic visual illustration of the temporal marks in a single
lambda
(31) in solutions 4 and 5. The short white squares in this exemplary
illustration
represent 0's, the long white squares represent 1's, and the short black lines
represent small intervals of no light. The considerably longer square (32)
represent
either a longer period of consecutive darkness (solution 4) or a longer period
of
consecutive light (solution 5). Preferably the first n bits after the mark are
the bits of
the target IP address (where n represents the length in bits of the IP
address).
Implementing this depends on the way 0's and 1's are marked in optic fibers.
For
example, if 0's are marked by short pulses of light and 1's by longer pulses
and the
pulses are separated by constant short intervals of no light, then there is no
problem
to make the longer marks unique by making them considerably longer than the
ordinary intervals of 0's, 1's, or separators. On the other hand, in solution
4, for
example, if 0's were marked by no light, then groups of 0's longer then a
certain
number would have to be represented as a multiplication factor followed by the
0
sign; so that normal periods of no light would be limited to no longer than a
certain
period. Same goes for solution 5 regarding 1's. However, since optic fibers
are
currently not marking 0's or 1's consecutively without separators, there is no
such
problem.
Referring to Fig. 4, I show an example of a condensed packet for much more
efficient distribution of the same data to multiple users. As explained above,
identical

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data packets are preferably grouped in groups so that each group contains a
single
copy of the identical data packet together with a multiple list of targets, so
that each
group preferably goes to a certain general area or direction, and when it
reaches that
general area the data is preferably duplicated and split up into the
individual packets,
or into smaller groups with less targets, which are later split up into the
individual
packets. This is preferably done in combination with using the above described
hierarchical system of routers and Physical (geographical) IP addresses
(preferably for
example GPS based), as explained above. As explained above, this efficient
distribution can be used for example both when sending data to users and when
sending data to various proxies or mirror sites such as for example Akamai
servers,
and can be especially important for example for streaming video. Of course
this can
also be done for example by multicast, however multicast requires explicitly
joining a
specific multicast group, whereas the above optimizations can be done
automatically
and much more flexibly and can be applied in multiple steps or sections along
the
way. Another possible variation is to implement the above routing
optimizations for
example by creating automatically and preferably dynamically multicast groups
and/or sub-groups and assigning automatically users to them (and preferably
removing them automatically for example when the user's browser is no longer
on the
page), preferably according to geographic location. This means that the
implementation can work in a way similar to the above described optimizations,
but
for example instead of keeping the list of target addresses in the condensed
packet, for
example the list of targets is sent first for example to a server or router in
the target
area, and then the following condensed packets for the same group can be sent
for
example to that server or router without the Iist of targets and instead the
condensed
packets include for example a code that identifies the multicast group and/or
the
desired list of targets that the server or router in that area already has. Of
course, like
in the above optimizations, the distribution paths are preferably based on the
hierarchical routers system with geographic IP addresses, thus achieving very
high
efficiency. Another possible variation is for example to use the above-
described
sending in advance of the target lists even without defining the users in that
area as a
multicast group. Another possible variation is to allow the automatic creation
of
multicast groups or sub-groups and automatic joining and removing of users in
them
also without geographical IP addresses, for example by using the path of
different
users' browser requests to determine who is close to each other according to
their
paths, although this is of course less efficient and less reliable than when
physical
(geographical) IP addresses are used. Of course, like other features of this
invention,
the above variations of the optimizations can be used also independently of
any other
features of this invention.

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The structure of automatically condensed identical packets is illustrated in
Fig. 4.
As explained above, preferably the condensed packet (61) contains just a
single copy
of the identical data (62) and an extended header (63), which contains a
normal
header (65) (preferably with a mark that indicates that this is actually a
condensed
packet), and a list (64) of the preferably physical (geographic) IP target
addresses of
the original packets that contained the same identical data in their body and
were
condensed in this group. So, for example, when sending the same streaming data
(or
any other same data) for example to millions of users at the same time,
preferably one
or more such condensed packets are created, preferably by the sending web
server,
and each condensed packet goes to a certain general target area, and as it
reaches the
general target area the condensed packet is preferably replicated and
regrouped into
smaller groups, each containing less target addresses, and eventually
replicated back
to single packets with a single target address each, as the packet nears its
final
destination. As explained above, this can lead to huge savings both in terms
of
bandwidth and in terms of the number of routing decisions that have to be made
on
the way.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of
embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications,
expansions and other applications of the invention may be made which are
included within the scope of the present invention, as would be obvious to
those
stalled in the art.

Representative Drawing