Server system for providing current data and past data to clients

• US 10,362,145 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2013
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Aaron, Noah Eric, Bennett, Dave, Cummins, Will R., Wecker, Noah H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, IV, William G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Ronak
• Application Number:
  US13/935,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20150019687A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,209 Days
• Field of Search: 709219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for handling a server request received at a data server. The data server comprises a policy request handler. The policy request handler is activated within the data server in response to the server request being received at the data server. The policy request handler is configured to receive a plurality of asynchronous data streams. The policy request handler is further configured to merge data points in the plurality of asynchronous data streams together to form time-ordered data points. The policy request handler is further configured to form policy-based data according to a server policy identified in the server request using the time-ordered data points.

Claims

1. A data server, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a plurality of asynchronous data streams from a data provider;

a storage system configured to store the plurality of asynchronous data streams received by the receiver and sent by the receiver to the storage system; and

program code residing on a non-transitory computer readable storage device, the program code comprising a policy request handler that is activated within the data server in response to a server request being received at the data server from a client, wherein the policy request handler is configured to;

responsive to the server request being a first request for live data, receive input points comprising the plurality of asynchronous data streams received by the receiver before the plurality of asynchronous data streams are stored in the storage system;

responsive to the server request being a second request for historical data, retrieving the input points from the storage system;

merge data points in the input points together to form an array of time-ordered data points, wherein the data points comprise data values and time values, wherein the data values comprise parametric data from a sensor, and wherein the data points are merged into a monotonically increasing time order in the array of time-ordered data points from among all of the plurality of asynchronous data streams based on a corresponding time value for each corresponding data point in the plurality of asynchronous data streams;

responsive to forming the array of time-ordered data points, determine a result as to whether the server request is an every sample request or a framed request having a trigger;

generate policy-based data according to a server policy identified in the server request, wherein the policy-based data is generated from the array of time-ordered data points and the result; and

send the policy-based data to the client in a manner requested by the client, wherein the policy-based data defines the manner in which the data points are delivered to the client.

2. The data server of claim 1, wherein the policy request handler comprises:

a data merger that merges the data points in the plurality of asynchronous data streams together to form the array of time-ordered data points.

3. The data server of claim 2, wherein the data merger receives the plurality of asynchronous data streams from the receiver in the data server when the server request is the first request, in which the receiver receives first data from at least one of a set of data providers.

4. The data server of claim 3, wherein the data merger receives the plurality of asynchronous data streams from the storage system in the data server when the server request is the second request, in which the storage system stores the data received by the receiver.

5. The data server of claim 2, wherein the policy request handler further comprises:

a policy-based data manager that forms the policy-based data using the array of time-ordered data points in which the policy-based data is formed based on the server policy.

6. The data server of claim 5, wherein the policy-based data manager is configured to use each of the data points in the array of time-ordered data points to generate the policy-based data for the server policy indicating that the server request is the every sample request.

7. The data server of claim 5, wherein the policy-based data manager is configured to form the policy-based data as a set of policy-based data frames in which each policy-based data frame in the set of policy-based data frames is formed in response to an event occurring using the array of time-ordered data points.

8. The data server of claim 7, wherein the event is a lapse of a time interval, and wherein one of the set of policy-based data frames in the set of policy-based data frames comprises a number of data values and an indication of time at which the lapse of the time interval occurred.

9. The data server of claim 8, wherein the number of data values are identified using the array of time-ordered data points and interpolation.

10. The data server of claim 1, wherein the policy request handler further comprises:

an output packetizer that forms output data for transmission from the policy request handler to the client using the policy-based data.

11. The data server of claim 1, wherein the time values indicate a time at which the data values were acquired.

12. The data server of claim 1, wherein the policy request handler serves the policy-based data to the client that generated a policy request from which the server request was formed.

18. The data server of claim 2, wherein:

the data points in the plurality of asynchronous data streams comprise a first data point having a first time value, and a second data point having a second time value;

the first data point and the first time value are generated earlier in time than the second data point and the second time value;

the policy request handler receives the second data point and the second time value before the first data point and the first time value; and

the data merger forms the array of time-ordered data points such that the first data point is arranged before the second data point.

13. A server system, comprising:

program code residing on a non-transitory computer readable storage device, the program code comprising a server controller configured to receive a policy request from a client and generate a number of server requests based on the policy request; and

a set of data servers, wherein a data server in the set of data servers comprises;

a first receiver configured to;

receive a plurality of asynchronous data streams from a data provider; and

send the plurality of asynchronous data streams to a storage system, wherein the storage system is configured to store the plurality of asynchronous data streams;

a server manager that activates a number of policy request handlers in response to receiving a server request in the number of server requests; and

a policy request handler in the number of policy request handlers that is configured to;

responsive to the server request being a first request for live data, receive input points comprising the plurality of asynchronous data streams received by the first receiver before the plurality of asynchronous data streams are stored in the storage system;

responsive to the server request being a second request for historical data, retrieving the input points from the storage system;

merge data points and the input points together to form an array of time-ordered data points, wherein the data points comprise data values and time values, wherein the data values comprise parametric data from a sensor, and wherein the data points are merged into a monotonically increasing time order in the array of time-ordered data points from among all of the plurality of asynchronous data streams based on a corresponding time value for each corresponding data point in the plurality of asynchronous data streams;

responsive to forming the array of time-ordered data points, determine a result as to whether the server request is an every sample request or a framed request having a trigger;

generate policy-based data according to a server policy identified in the server request, wherein the policy-based data is generated from the array of time-ordered data points and the result; and

send the policy-based data to the client in a manner requested by the client, wherein the policy-based data defines the manner in which the data points are delivered to the client.

19. The server system of claim 13, wherein:

each of the data points in the array of time-order data points is used to generate the policy-based data when the server policy indicates that the server request is the every sample request;

the policy-based data is used to produce a set of policy-based data frames in which each policy-based data frame in the set of policy-based data frames is produced in response to an event occurring using the array of time-ordered data points;

the event is a lapse of a time interval and wherein one of the policy-based data frames in the set of policy-based data frames comprises a number of data values and a first time value indicating a time at which the lapse of the time interval occurred; and

the number of data values is identified using the array of time-ordered data points and interpolation.

14. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of asynchronous data streams from a data provider by a receiver in a data server;

sending the plurality of asynchronous data streams received by the receiver to a storage system in the data server;

storing the plurality of asynchronous data streams sent from the receiver to the storage system in the storage system;

generating a server request using a policy-request generated by a client;

activating a policy request handler within the data server in response to receiving the server request;

responsive to the server request being a first request for live data, receiving input points comprising the plurality of asynchronous data streams received by the receiver before the plurality of asynchronous data streams are stored in the storage system at the policy request handler;

responsive to the server request being a second request for historical data, retrieving the input points from the storage system by the policy request handler;

merging, by the policy request handler, data points with the input points to form time-ordered data points, wherein the data points comprise data values and time values, and wherein the data values comprise parametric data from a sensor;

responsive to forming the time-ordered data points, determine a result as to whether the server request is an every sample request or a framed request having a trigger;

forming, by the policy request handler, policy-based data according to a server policy identified in the server request using the time-ordered data points and the result; and

sending the policy-based data as output data to the client.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the input points at the policy request handler comprises:

receiving the plurality of asynchronous data streams at the policy request handler from the receiver in the data server when the server request is the first request in which the receiver receives first data from at least one of a set of data providers.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the input points at the policy request handler further comprises:

receiving the plurality of asynchronous data streams at the policy request handler from the storage system in the data server when the server request is the second request in which the storage system stores the data received by the receiver.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein forming, by the policy request handler, the policy-based data comprises:

forming, by the policy request handler, the policy-based data as a set of policy-based data frames in which each policy-based data frame in the set of policy-based data frames is formed in response to an event occurring using the time-ordered data points.