Packet-based communication system and method

1. A system for facilitating communication of packets between multiple components of one or more applications residing on a first computing device and at least one second computing device, the system comprising:

a connection manager adapted to receive packets from the at least one second computing device; and

a packet cache, coupled to the connection manager, for storing packets received by the connection manager;

wherein the connection manager is adapted to, for each packet, notify each of the multiple components of the one or more applications of receipt of the packet;

wherein the packet is retrievable from the packet cache by a notified component for verification that the packet is intended for communication to the notified component;

wherein each notified component is adapted to determine if it is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one second computing device; and

wherein retrieval of the packet and verification that the packet is intended for communication to the notified component are made if the notified component determines that it is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one second computing device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first computing device and the at least one second computing device are adapted to communicate with each other within a virtual private network.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the multiple components is one of the one or more applications or a thread thereof that is executing and resides on the first computing device.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein an identifier is assigned to each packet stored in the packet cache; wherein in notifying each of the multiple components of the one or more applications of receipt of the packet, the identifier associated therewith is employed; wherein the identifier of the packet facilitates the retrieval thereof from the packet cache by the notified component; and wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage and releases the identifier associated with the packet.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein verification that the packet is intended for communication to the notified component is performed by checking headers and sequence numbers contained in the packet.

7. A method of facilitating communication of packets between multiple components of one or more applications residing on a first computing device and at least one second computing device, the method comprising:

receiving a packet from the at least one second computing device;

storing the received packet in a packet cache;

notifying each of the multiple components of the one or more applications of receipt of the received packet;

for a notified component, determining if the notified component is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one second computing device; and

retrieving the received packet from the packet cache; and

verifying that the received packet is intended for communication to the notified component if the notified component determines that it is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one second computing device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first computing device and the at least one second computing device are adapted to communicate with each other within a virtual private network.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein each of the multiple components is one of the one or more applications or a thread thereof that is executing and resides on the first computing device.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the method further comprises assigning an identifier to the received packet stored in the packet cache; wherein in the notifying of each of the multiple components, the identifier associated with the received packet is employed; wherein the identifier is used to facilitate the retrieval of the received packet from the packet cache; and wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage and releases the identifier associated with the packet.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the verification of the received packet is made by the notified component, and wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions executable on a mobile device, wherein the instructions, when executed, perform a method of facilitating communication of packets between multiple components of one or more applications residing on the mobile device and at least one remote computing device, the method comprising:

receiving a packet from the at least one remote computing device;

storing the received packet in a packet cache;

notifying each of the multiple components of the one or more applications of receipt of the received packet;

for a notified component, determining if the notified component is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one remote computing device; and

retrieving the received packet from the packet cache and verifying that the received packet is intended for communication to the notified component if the notified component determines that it is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one remote computing device.

13. The medium of claim 12 , wherein the first computing device and the at least one second computing device are adapted to communicate with each other within a virtual private network

14. The medium of claim 12 , wherein each of the multiple components is one of the one or more applications or a thread thereof that is executing and resides on the first computing device.

15. The medium of claim 12 , wherein the verification of the received packet is made by the notified component, and wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage.

16. The medium of claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises assigning an identifier to the received packet stored in the packet cache; wherein in the notifying of each of the multiple components, the identifier associated with the received packet is employed; wherein the identifier is used to facilitate the retrieval of the received packet from the packet cache; and wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage and releases the identifier associated with the packet

17. A mobile device coupled to at least one remote computing device, the mobile device comprising:

a connection manager adapted to receive packets from the at least one remote computing device; and

a packet cache, coupled to the connection manager, for storing packets received by the connection manager;

wherein the connection manager is adapted to, for each packet, notify each of the multiple components of one or more applications residing on the mobile device of receipt of the packet;

wherein the packet is retrievable from the packet cache by a notified component for verification that the packet is intended for communication to the notified component is made;

wherein each notified component is adapted to determine if it is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one remote computing device; and

wherein retrieval of the packet and verification that the packet is intended for communication to the notified component are made if the notified component determines that it is expecting to receive the packet from the at least one remote computing device.

18. The mobile device of claim 17 , wherein the mobile device and the at least one remote computing device are adapted to communicate with each other within a virtual private network.

19. The mobile device of claim 17 , wherein each of the multiple components is one of the one or more applications or a thread thereof that is executing and resides on the mobile device.

20. The mobile device of claim 17 , wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage.

21. The mobile device of claim 17 , wherein an identifier is assigned to each packet stored in the packet cache; wherein in notifying each of the multiple components of one or more applications of receipt of the packet, the identifier associated therewith is employed; wherein the identifier of the packet facilitates the retrieval thereof from the packet cache by the notified component; and

wherein if the packet is successfully verified by the notified component, the notified component informs the packet cache that the packet is being used, such that the packet cache removes the packet from storage and releases the identifier associated with the packet.

22. The mobile device of claim 17 , wherein verification that the packet is intended for communication to the notified component is performed by checking headers and sequence numbers contained in the packet.