US 8780887

US Patent 8780887, titled "Method of network-based communication in virtual network environment," was filed on September 16, 2011, and issued on July 15, 2014. The patent is assigned to Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute ETRI, and the inventors are Sun Cheul Kim, Seong Moon, Seungwoo Hong, Ho Sun Yoon, and Ho Yong Ryu.

Abstract:
The patent describes a communication method within a virtual network environment involving a first virtual tunnel router and a second virtual tunnel router. These routers request virtual network prefix information from a tunnel mapping controller. The controller generates and transmits this information, along with a list of adjacent virtual tunnel routers. Subsequently, the virtual tunnel routers establish a tunnel, and by linking the received virtual network prefix information, they can perform direct communication.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a method for achieving end-to-end communication in a virtual network. It involves two or more virtual tunnel routers (a first and a second). The first virtual tunnel router receives virtual network prefix information from a tunnel mapping controller. It then checks if it has received a "hole punching" message from the second virtual tunnel router. If such a message is received, the first virtual tunnel router establishes a tunnel with the second virtual tunnel router based on the virtual network prefix information and proceeds to perform direct communication through this established tunnel.

• Independent Claim 6: This claim outlines a communication method enabling direct communication between multiple virtual tunnel routers (e.g., a first and a second) by cooperating with a tunnel mapping controller. The method includes the virtual tunnel routers requesting virtual network prefix information from the controller. The tunnel mapping controller then generates and transmits this information to each router, also providing a list of virtual tunnel routers for which previous connection information has been stored. The first and second virtual tunnel routers then create a tunnel. Finally, direct communication is performed by linking the virtual network prefix information received by each virtual tunnel router to its respective tunnel.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
A search of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) 2026 dockets for patent number US8780887 did not yield any explicit results indicating ongoing litigation for this specific patent within the scheduled cases for May or June 2026. General information on how to access case records before March 1, 2012, or search for documents not available through PACER was found, but no direct mention of US8780887 in current dockets.