Network services broker system and method

• US 20030105864A1
• Filed: 01/11/2002
• Published: 06/05/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Nykanen, Petri, Mulligan, Michael, Toijala, Jouni
• Application Number:
  US10/043,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20030105864A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A system and method for providing network applications access to service functionality available via one or more networks or network terminals is provided. The method includes providing at least one network service broker logically between one or more network infrastructures and a service provision infrastructure operating on top of the network infrastructures. A loosely-coupled interface of the network service broker is exposed to the service provision infrastructure. Access by the network applications to value-added services within the network infrastructures is facilitated via the loosely-coupled network service broker interface.

Claims

1. A network system for facilitating access to functionality available on one or more networks, comprising:

one or more terminals operable in a network;

a network infrastructure comprising one or more network systems;

at least one network-enabled application operating within a service provision infrastructure for use by one or more of the terminals; and

at least one network service broker comprising a loosely-coupled interface exposed to the service provision infrastructure for brokering added-value network services from one or more of the terminals and network systems to the service provision infrastructure.

2. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the loosely-coupled interface is a loosely-coupled standardized interface.

3. The network system as in claim 2, wherein the loosely-coupled standardized interface is defined in Extensible Markup Language (XML).

4. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the loosely-coupled interface comprises a Web Services interface.

5. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the loosely-coupled interface comprises a single loosely-coupled Web Service interface exposed to the service provision infrastructure.

6. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker comprises at least one network-coupled broker to communicate with one or more network elements in the network infrastructure.

7. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker comprises at least one terminal-coupled broker to communicate with one or more terminals.

8. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker comprises at least one hybrid network service broker to communicate with one or more network elements in the network infrastructure and with one or more terminals.

9. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is an authentication broker to access authentication services for use by the network-enabled application.

10. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a charging broker to access a charging/billing service in connection with use of the network-enabled application.

11. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a location broker to access a terminal location service to allow a location of the terminal to be provided to the network-enabled application.

12. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a content ordering broker to store subscription information to a profile register and to verify subscription intentions of an end-user of the terminal.

13. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a presence broker to access a presence service to allow user presence information to be provided to the network-enabled application.

14. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a client provisioning broker to broker provisioning of mobile terminals.

15. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a notification broker to facilitate pushing content to the terminals.

16. The network system as in claim 1, wherein the network service broker is a privacy broker to access end-user privacy information and to control which information other brokers will provide to the service provision infrastructure.

17. The network system as in claim 16, wherein the privacy broker controls which information other brokers will provide to the service provision infrastructure based on parameters defined by an end-user of the terminal, wherein the parameters may be provided by the end-user manually at a time in which the end-user privacy information is required, or automatically where the parameters were defined by the end-user in advance.

18. A method of providing network applications access to service functionality available via one or more networks, comprising:

providing at least one network service broker logically between one or more network infrastructures and a service provision infrastructure operating on top of the network infrastructures;

exposing a loosely-coupled interface of the network service broker to the service provision infrastructure; and

facilitating access by the network applications to value-added services within the network infrastructures via the loosely-coupled network service broker interface.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein facilitating access via the loosely-coupled network service broker interface comprises making the service available to the applications via the loosely-coupled network service broker interface using any of a plurality of service provision infrastructure technologies.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising communicating between the network service broker and the network infrastructure regardless of technological differences in one or more different network elements operating within the network infrastructure.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising communicating between the network service broker and the network infrastructure regardless of technological differences in one or more network infrastructure network systems having different access methods.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more network infrastructures collectively implement a plurality of different network technologies, and wherein the network service broker accommodates technological variations between the network technologies and service provision infrastructure technologies.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein exposing a loosely-coupled interface of the network service broker to the service provision infrastructure comprises exposing a loosely-coupled Web Services interface to the service provision infrastructure.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising defining the loosely-coupled interface in Extensible Markup Language (XML).

25. The method of claim 18, wherein providing at least one network service broker comprises providing a plurality of network service brokers, and wherein each of the plurality of network service brokers comprises a loosely-coupled interface exposed to the service provision infrastructure for communication therebetween.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein at least some of the plurality of network service brokers intercommunicate.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the network infrastructures comprise at least one fixed network.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein the network infrastructures comprise at least one wireless network.

29. The method of claim 18, further comprising utilizing the value-added service by the applications as arranged by the network service broker.

30. A method of providing network applications access to service functionality available via one or more networks, comprising:

providing at least one network service broker logically between one or more terminals and a service provision infrastructure operating on top of a network infrastructure;

exposing a loosely-coupled interface of the network service broker to the service provision infrastructure; and

facilitating access by the network applications to value-added services provided at least in part by the terminals via the loosely-coupled network service broker interface.

31. The method as in claim 30, further comprising communicating a terminal type of one or more of the terminals to the network service broker, and providing the terminal type to the service provision infrastructure via the loosely-coupled interface of the network service broker.

32. The method as in claim 30, further comprising configuring one or more user terminals via cooperative communication between the user terminals and the network service broker at the direction of the network application, wherein the configuration is accomplished regardless of the protocol utilized by the user terminals.

33. A method of providing network applications access to service functionality available via one or more networks, comprising:

providing at least one hybrid network service broker logically between one or more network infrastructures and a service provision infrastructure operating on top of the network infrastructures, and between one or more terminals and the service provision infrastructure;

exposing a loosely-coupled interface of the hybrid network service broker to the service provision infrastructure; and

facilitating access by the network applications via the loosely-coupled hybrid network service broker interface to value-added services provided via one or both of the terminals and the network infrastructures.

34. A method of providing network applications that operate within a service provision infrastructure access to service functionality available via a visited network in which a user of a terminal has roamed, comprising:

providing a use authorization voucher to a visited network service broker associated with the visited network;

receiving, at the service provision infrastructure, an address of the visited network service broker from a home network service broker associated with a home network, wherein the home network service broker exposes a loosely-coupled interface to the service provision infrastructure to facilitate communication therebetween;

accessing the visited network service broker by the service provision infrastructure using the address of the visited network service broker; and

facilitating access by the service provision infrastructure to the service functionality available from the visited network via a loosely-coupled interface of the visited network service broker that is exposed to the service provision infrastructure.

35. The method as in claim 34, wherein providing the use voucher to the visited network service broker comprises providing the use voucher to the service provision infrastructure via the loosely-coupled interface of the home network service broker, and in turn providing the use voucher to the visited network service broker via the loosely-coupled interface of the visited network service broker.

36. The method as in claim 34, wherein providing the use voucher to the visited network service broker comprises directly providing the use voucher from the home network service broker to the visited network service broker.

37. The method as in claim 34, wherein providing a use authorization voucher to the visited network service broker comprises providing the use authorization voucher to the visited network if a roaming agreement between the home and visited networks authorizes providing the use authorization voucher to the visited network.

38. A method of providing network applications that operate within a service provision infrastructure access to service functionality available via a visited network in which a user of a terminal has roamed, wherein a roaming agreement has been established between the visited network and a home network of the user of the terminal, the method comprising:

communicating between the service provision infrastructure and a home network service broker associated with the home network via a loosely-coupled interface of the home network service broker exposed to the service provision infrastructure; and

communicating between the home network service broker and a visited network service broker associated with the visited network, wherein the home network service broker serves as a proxy in accessing the service functionality available via the visited network.

39. A method of providing network applications that operate within a service provision infrastructure access to service functionality available via a visited network in which a user of a terminal has roamed, wherein a roaming agreement has been established between the visited network and the service provision infrastructure, the method comprising:

providing a visited network service broker logically between the visited network and the service provision infrastructure operating on top of a network infrastructure;

exposing a loosely-coupled interface of the visited network service broker to the service provision infrastructure; and

facilitating access by the service provision infrastructure to the service functionality available from the visited network via the loosely-coupled interface of the visited network service broker.

40. A network service broker for facilitating access by a service provision infrastructure to service functionality available via one or more networks, the network service broker comprising:

an interface to access the service functionality from a network infrastructure; and

a loosely-coupled interface exposed to the service provision infrastructure, wherein the loosely-coupled interface comprises a Web Services-based interface having Extensible Markup Language (XML) schemata built on top of a Web Services platform to expose the service functionality available via the network.