Decentralized peer-to-peer advertisement

• US 20040044727A1
• Filed: 08/30/2002
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: J. Duigou, Michael, Abdelaziz, Mohamed M., Botros, Sherif, Traversat, Bernard A., Hugly, Jean-Christophe
• Granted Patent: US 7,263,560 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/365 Application layer names, e.g. buddy names, unstructured names chosen by a user or home appliance name
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1059 Inter-group management mechanisms, e.g. splitting, merging or interconnection of groups
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/107 with limitation or expansion of the discovery scope
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Embodiments of a shared resource distributed index mechanism that peers in a peer-to-peer network may utilize to distribute index entries corresponding to resources to indexes of shared resources among one or more other peers. These indexes may be used to direct queries to peers where the queries are most likely to be answered. When a query is received by a rendezvous peer including one or more indexes, contents of the query may be “looked up” in the index to find matches. The results of the lookup may include information on one or peer(s) that may hold advertisement(s) to the resource requested by the query. The query may then be forwarded to one or more peers that may hold the advertisement for the resource. Embodiments may provide “loosely-coupled” distribution of index entries for use in querying for resources in the peer-to-peer network.

Claims

1. A peer computing system, comprising:

a plurality of peer nodes, wherein each peer node comprises a network interface configured to communicate with one or more other ones of said peer nodes over one or more networks, and wherein each peer node is configured to store advertisements to network resources, wherein each network resource advertisement comprises a plurality of key/value pairs;

one of the plurality of peer nodes configured to;

cache an index comprising one or more key/value pairs from one or more network resource advertisements stored on others of the plurality of peer nodes, wherein each key/value pair indicates a particular one of the others of the peer nodes that a corresponding network resource advertisement is stored on;

receive a query message from another one of the plurality of peer nodes, wherein the query message requests a particular network resource, and wherein the query message includes one or more key/value pairs of an advertisement for the particular network resource;

perform a search of the cached index for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, forward the query message to one or more of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

2. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the cached index is a hash table comprising hashes of the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements, and wherein, to perform a search of the cached index for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message, the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to:

hash the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

compare the hashed one or more key/value pairs from the query message to the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements.

3. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein, if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, said search returns a peer identifier for each of the one or more of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

4. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is a rendezvous peer configured to:

cache network resource information including one or more indexes of key/value pairs; and

assist the plurality of peers in discovery of the network resources using the cached network resource information.

5. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to provide the cached index to another of the plurality of peer nodes.

6. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs is configured to:

receive the query message forwarded from the one of the plurality of peer nodes; and

inform the other one of the plurality of peer nodes that the peer node stores an advertisement for the particular network resource in response to the query message.

7. The peer computing system as recited in claim 6, wherein the other one of the plurality of peer nodes is configured to access the particular network resource in accordance with the advertisement for the particular network resource stored on one of the one or more of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

8. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein, if no matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to forward the query message to at least one other peer node comprising a different cached index of key/value pairs.

9. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to:

receive one or more key/value pairs from at least one of the others of the plurality of peer nodes; and

update the cached index with the received one or more key/value pairs.

10. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is further configured to garbage collect the cached index to remove key/value pairs from network resource advertisements stored on peer nodes that are no longer accessible.

11. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of peer nodes are configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on the network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols for enabling the plurality of peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, and cooperate with each other to form peer groups and share the network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

15. The peer computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of rendezvous nodes is configured to share the cached index with one or more others of the plurality of rendezvous nodes.

39. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more key/value pairs from another peer node; and

updating the cached index with the received one or more key/value pairs.

12. A peer computing system, comprising:

a plurality of peer nodes, wherein each peer node comprises a network interface configured to communicate with one or more other ones of said peer nodes over one or more networks, and wherein each peer node is configured to store advertisements to network resources, wherein each network resource advertisement comprises a plurality of key/value pairs;

a plurality of rendezvous nodes each configured to;

cache an index comprising one or more key/value pairs from one or more network resource advertisements stored on one or more of the plurality of peer nodes local to the particular rendezvous node, wherein each key/value pair indicates a particular one of the local peer nodes that a corresponding network resource advertisement is stored on;

receive a query message from one of the plurality of peer nodes, wherein the query message requests a particular network resource, and wherein the query message includes one or more key/value pairs of an advertisement for the particular network resource;

perform a search of the cached index for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, forward the query message to one or more of the local peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

13. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein the cached index is a hash table comprising hashes of the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements, and wherein, to perform a search of the cached index for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message, the particular rendezvous node is further configured to:

hash the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

compare the hashed one or more key/value pairs from the query message to the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements.

14. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein, if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, said search returns a peer identifier for each of the one or more of the local peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

16. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein each of the one or more of the local peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs is configured to:

receive the query message forwarded from the particular rendezvous node; and

inform the one of the plurality of peer nodes that the local peer node stores an advertisement for the particular network resource in response to the query message.

17. The peer computing system as recited in claim 16, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is configured to access the particular network resource in accordance with the advertisement for the particular network resource stored on one of the one or more of the local peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

18. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein, if no matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, the particular rendezvous node is further configured to forward the query message to at least one other of the plurality of rendezvous nodes comprising a different cached index of key/value pairs.

19. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein the particular rendezvous node is further configured to:

receive one or more key/value pairs from at least one of the local peer nodes; and

update the cached index with the received one or more key/value pairs.

20. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein the particular rendezvous node is further configured to garbage collect the cached index to remove key/value pairs from network resource advertisements stored on local peer nodes that are no longer accessible.

21. The peer computing system as recited in claim 12, wherein the plurality of peer nodes and the plurality of rendezvous nodes are configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment on the network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols for enabling the plurality of peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, discover the network resources, and cooperate with each other to form peer groups and share the network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

22. A peer node comprising:

one or more network interfaces for coupling to a network;

a cached index comprising one or more key/value pairs from one or more network resource advertisements stored on one or more other peer nodes on the network, wherein each key/value pair indicates a particular one of the other peer nodes that a corresponding network resource advertisement is stored on;

wherein the peer node is configured to;

receive a query message from another peer node on the network, wherein the query message requests a particular network resource, and wherein the query message includes one or more key/value pairs of an advertisement for the particular network resource;

perform a search of the cached index for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

if a matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, forward the query message to one of the one or more other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pair.

23. The peer node as recited in claim 22, wherein the cached index is a hash table comprising hashes of the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements, and wherein, to perform a search of the cached index for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message, the peer node is further configured to:

hash the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

compare the hashed one or more key/value pairs from the query message to the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements.

24. The peer node as recited in claim 22, wherein, if a matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, said search returns a peer identifier for the one of the one or more other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pair.

25. The peer node as recited in claim 22, wherein the one of the plurality of peer nodes is a rendezvous peer configured to:

cache network resource information including one or more indexes of key/value pairs; and

assist other peer nodes on the network in discovery of the network resources using the cached network resource information.

26. The peer node as recited in claim 22, further configured to provide the cached index to other peer nodes on the network.

27. The peer node as recited in claim 22, wherein, if no matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, the peer node is further configured to forward the query message to at least one other peer node on the network comprising a different cached index of key/value pairs.

28. The peer node as recited in claim 22, further configured to:

receive one or more key/value pairs from another peer node on the network; and

update the cached index with the received one or more key/value pairs.

29. The peer node as recited in claim 22, further configured to garbage collect the cached index to remove key/value pairs from network resource advertisements stored on peer nodes that are no longer accessible.

30. The peer node as recited in claim 22, further configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment with other peer nodes on the network in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols for enabling the peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, and cooperate with each other to form peer groups and share the network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

31. A method, comprising:

receiving from a peer node a query message including one or more key/value pairs of an advertisement for a particular network resource;

searching for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message in a cached index comprising one or more key/value pairs from one or more network resource advertisements stored on other peer nodes, wherein each key/value pair in the cached index indicates a particular one of the other peer nodes that a corresponding network resource advertisement is stored on; and

if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, forwarding the query message to one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein the cached index is a hash table comprising hashes of the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements, and wherein searching for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message in a cached index comprises:

hashing the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

comparing the hashed one or more key/value pairs from the query message to the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements.

33. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein, if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, said searching returns a peer identifier for each of the one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

34. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein said receiving, said searching, and said forwarding are performed by a rendezvous peer participating in a peer-to-peer networking environment implemented in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocol for enabling peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, and cooperate with each other to form peer groups and share the network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

35. The method as recited in claim 34, further comprising the rendezvous peer providing the cached index to another rendezvous peer.

36. The method as recited in claim 31 further comprising:

each of the one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs receiving the forwarded query message; and

each of the one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs informing the peer node that originated the query message that the peer node that received the forwarded query message stores an advertisement for the particular network resource in response to the query message.

37. The method as recited in claim 36, further comprising the peer node that originated the query message accessing the particular network resource in accordance with the advertisement for the particular network resource stored on one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

38. The method as recited in claim 31, further comprising, if no matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, forwarding the query message to at least one other peer node comprising a different cached index of key/value pairs.

40. The method as recited in claim 31, further comprising garbage collecting the cached index to remove key/value pairs from network resource advertisements stored on peer nodes that are no longer accessible.

41. A computer-accessible medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:

receiving from a peer node a query message including one or more key/value pairs of an advertisement for a particular network resource;

searching for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message in a cached index comprising one or more key/value pairs from one or more network resource advertisements stored on other peer nodes, wherein each key/value pair in the cached index indicates a particular one of the other peer nodes that a corresponding network resource advertisement is stored on; and

if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, forwarding the query message to one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

42. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41, wherein the cached index is a hash table comprising hashes of the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements, and wherein, in said searching for matches to the one or more key/value pairs from the query message in a cached index, the program instructions are further configured to implement:

hashing the one or more key/value pairs from the query message; and

comparing the hashed one or more key/value pairs from the query message to the one or more key/value pairs from the one or more network resource advertisements.

43. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41, wherein, if one or more matching key/value pairs is found in the cached index, said searching returns a peer identifier for each of the one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

44. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41, wherein said receiving, said searching, and said forwarding are performed by a rendezvous peer participating in a peer-to-peer networking environment implemented in accordance with one or more peer-to-peer platform protocol for enabling peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, and cooperate with each other to form peer groups and share the network resources in the peer-to-peer environment.

45. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 44, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement the rendezvous peer providing the cached index to another rendezvous peer.

46. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41 wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement:

each of the one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs receiving the forwarded query message; and

each of the one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs informing the peer node that originated the query message that the peer node that received the forwarded query message stores an advertisement for the particular network resource in response to the query message.

47. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 46, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement the peer node that originated the query message accessing the particular network resource in accordance with the advertisement for the particular network resource stored on one or more of the other peer nodes indicated by the matching key/value pairs.

48. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement, if no matching key/value pair is found in the cached index, forwarding the query message to at least one other peer node comprising a different cached index of key/value pairs.

49. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement:

receiving one or more key/value pairs from another peer node; and

updating the cached index with the received one or more key/value pairs.

50. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 41, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement garbage collecting the cached index to remove key/value pairs from network resource advertisements stored on peer nodes that are no longer accessible.