A method (200) is disclosed for operating a constrained device within a network, the network comprising a Network Address Translation (NAT) node deployed between the constrained device and a manager. The method comprises receiving from the manager configuration information for a Port Control Protocol (PCP) configuration data Object on the constrained device (210), the configuration information comprising a value for a Resource in the PCP configuration data Object (210a) and execution of a Resource in the PCP configuration data Object, the execution triggering sending of a PCP request (210b). The method further comprises sending a PCP Request to the NAT node in accordance with the executed Resource, the PCP Request including the Resource value received in the configuration information (220). Also disclosed are methods (500, 600) and apparatus for configuring and managing a constrained device.

Provided are an IoT device and an IoT communication method. The IoT device may: be connected to a server via NAT; execute a first session for service connection; and execute a second session for calculating a particular keep-alive value corresponding to a period in which an IP address mapped by the NAT expires. The present invention can minimize transmission of a keep-alive value of an IoT device, enables an IoT device to share a particular keep-alive value with other IoT devices, and thus can minimize a network load which may be caused by a keep-alive value of an IoT communication device.

Provided are an IoT device and an IoT communication method. The IoT device may: be connected to a server via NAT; execute a first session for service connection; and execute a second session for calculating a particular keep-alive value corresponding to a period in which an IP address mapped by the NAT expires. The present invention can minimize transmission of a keep-alive value of an IoT device, enables an IoT device to share a particular keep-alive value with other IoT devices, and thus can minimize a network load which may be caused by a keep-alive value of an IoT communication device.

A method for controlling selection of a communication method between an equipment control device belonging to a wide-area communication network and equipment belonging to a local communication network. The method includes the following steps relating to the control device: requesting the equipment to initiate a connection to the control device, the request being sent at the time of a routine connection of the equipment to the control device; determining whether the equipment can be reached by the control device using a direct method; and configuring the equipment if the equipment cannot be reached using a direct method.

A middlebox system that maintains a load balancing configuration in a large scale IoT deployment is provided. The system performs reverse address translation for a first packet of a particular application from a first server to a first client according to a binding structure that couples a source address indicating the first client with (i) a destination addresses indicating the first server and (ii) an application client marker of the first client for the particular application. The system performs reverse address translation for a second packet of the particular application from a second server to the first client by using the application client marker in the binding structure to determine the source address indicating the first client.

In one embodiment, a method includes activating a first network apparatus within a network and determining, by the first network apparatus, that a Scalable Group Tag (SGT) Exchange Protocol (SXP) is configured on the first network apparatus. The method also includes costing out the first network apparatus in response to determining that the SXP is configured on the first network apparatus. Costing out the first network apparatus prevents Internet Protocol (IP) traffic from flowing through the first network apparatus. The method further includes receiving, by the first network apparatus, IP-to-SGT bindings from an SXP speaker, receiving an end-of-exchange message from the SXP speaker, and costing in the first network apparatus in response to receiving the end-of-exchange message. Costing in the first network apparatus allows the IP traffic to flow through the first network apparatus.

A cross-network wake-up method and a related device. In the method, an Internet of things platform sends a wake-up instruction to an agent device that maintains a heartbeat connection to the Internet of things platform, and then sends, through the agent device, a wake-up message to a to-be-woken-up Internet of things device that is deployed on a same private network as the agent device. This resolves a technical problem that after a public-private network address mapping becomes invalid, a message from the Internet of things platform cannot reach the Internet of things device through a NAT device, and the Internet of things device cannot receive the message.

A method for fetching a content from a web server to a client device is disclosed, using tunnel devices serving as intermediate devices. The tunnel device is selected based on an attribute, such as IP Geolocation. A tunnel bank server stores a list of available tunnels that may be used, associated with values of various attribute types. The tunnel devices initiate communication with the tunnel bank server, and stays connected to it, for allowing a communication session initiated by the tunnel bank server. Upon receiving a request from a client to a content and for specific attribute types and values, a tunnel is selected by the tunnel bank server, and is used as a tunnel for retrieving the required content from the web server, using standard protocol such as SOCKS, WebSocket or HTTP Proxy. The client only communicates with a super proxy server that manages the content fetching scheme.

Embodiments of this disclosure provides a heartbeat information sending method and apparatus, a heartbeat information processing method and apparatus, and a node. One example method includes: determining at least one heartbeat receiving node in which at least two follower data blocks corresponding to at least two leader data blocks in a heartbeat sending node are located; and when the at least one heartbeat receiving node is a single heartbeat receiving node, sending heartbeat information of the heartbeat sending node to the single heartbeat receiving node, where the heartbeat information of the heartbeat sending node is obtained after respective heartbeat information of the at least two leader data blocks are combined.

Embodiments of this disclosure provides a heartbeat information sending method and apparatus, a heartbeat information processing method and apparatus, and a node. One example method includes: determining at least one heartbeat receiving node in which at least two follower data blocks corresponding to at least two leader data blocks in a heartbeat sending node are located; and when the at least one heartbeat receiving node is a single heartbeat receiving node, sending heartbeat information of the heartbeat sending node to the single heartbeat receiving node, where the heartbeat information of the heartbeat sending node is obtained after respective heartbeat information of the at least two leader data blocks are combined.