Session endpoint management protocol

• US 20040210657A1
• Filed: 04/15/2003
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Narayanan, Sathya, Komiya, Daisaku, Khandelwal, Rajesh
• Granted Patent: US 7,539,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/327 in the session layer [OSI layer 5]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A protocol for extending session endpoints in an ad-hoc network environment first performs device discovery to determine local devices within its coverage area and the capability of those devices. These local devices then exchange session descriptions with the endpoint device. If the current session may be supported by one of the local devices, the endpoint device, responsive to a command from an user, transfers the session endpoint to the local device and the endpoint device acts as a proxy for the local device in the session. Optionally, if the local device has a path to the correspondent node that is independent of the path through the endpoint device, it establishes the session along this path and then signal the endpoint node to terminate its session.

Claims

1. A protocol for managing session endpoints in an ad-hoc network environment including a first device, configured as the primary endpoint of a session between the first device and a correspondent node in a primary network environment including the first device, the ad-hoc network environment including the first device and at least one local device, the protocol comprising the steps of:

discovering, by the first device, an identity of the at least one local device;

receiving, by the first device, information describing any sessions in which the at least one local device is participating, from the at least one local device via a session description information message; and

sending a MOVE message to establish the at least one local device as a secondary endpoint of the session.

2. A protocol according to claim 1, wherein the step of discovering the identity of the at least one local device includes the step of performing a device discovery operation according to a predetermined device discovery protocol.

3. A protocol according to claim 1, wherein the step of discovering the identity of the at least one local device further includes the steps of:

sending, by the first device, an device information message requesting device capability data; and

sending, by the at least one local device, in response to the device information message, a further device information message, including capability data of the at least one local device, to the first device.

4. A protocol according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the session description information from the at least one local device further includes the step of receiving the device capability information from the at least one local device via the session description information message.

5. A protocol according to claim 1, further including the step of sending, by the first device a further session description information message describing the session between the first device and the correspondent node, to the at least one local device.

6. A protocol according to claim 1, further including the steps of:

configuring the at least one local device to receive and process data of the session, in response to the MOVE message; and

forwarding, by the first device, the session data to the at least one local device.

7. A protocol according to claim 6 wherein the step of configuring the at least one local device to receive and process the session data is performed by the at least one local device in response to commands received by the at least one local device from a user.

8. A protocol according to claim 6 wherein the step of configuring the at least one local device to receive and process the session data is performed by the at least one local device in response to commands received by the at least one local device from the first device.

9. A protocol for managing session endpoints in an ad-hoc network environment including a first device, configured as the primary endpoint of a session between the first device and a correspondent node in a fixed network environment including the first device, the ad-hoc network environment including the first device and a plurality of local devices, the protocol comprising:

an information message which is sent by one of the first device and the at least one local device to request information from or provide information to at least one of the plurality of local devices in the ad-hoc network; and

a MOVE message which is sent by one of the plurality of local devices to one of the first device and an other device of the plurality of local devices to cause the first device to establish the other device as a secondary endpoint of the session.

10. A protocol according to claim 9, wherein:

the information message includes;

an information-type field which identifies a type of information being requested or provided;

an information-state field which indicates whether the message is requesting or providing information; and

a content field which contains any information provided by the information message; and

the MOVE message includes;

a PRIMARY ENDPOINT field which identifies the first device;

a FROM field which identifies a device of the plurality of devices which is sending the message; and

a TO field which identifies a further device of the plurality of devices to which the message is addressed, wherein the further device is to be established as the secondary endpoint of the session.

11. A protocol according to claim 9, further including a COPY message which is sent by one of the plurality of devices to establish one of the plurality of devices as the secondary endpoint and to provide a copy of the session to the secondary endpoint.

12. A protocol according to claim 9 wherein the session includes multiple portions and the protocol further includes a SPLIT message which is sent by one of the plurality of devices to establish first and second ones of the plurality of devices as secondary endpoints of respectively different portions of the session.

13. A protocol according to claim 12, further including a MERGE message which is sent by one of the plurality of devices to establish one device of the plurality of devices as the secondary endpoint of the portions of the single session established in the first and second ones of the plurality of devices.

14. A protocol according to claim 9, further including a CONNECT message which is sent by one of the plurality of devices to the first device to notify the first device of an incoming session or to cause the first device to initiate a session.

15. A protocol according to claim 14, further including a TERMINATE message which is sent by one of the plurality of devices to the first device to cause the first device to terminate the session.

16. A protocol for managing an endpoint of a logical session in a first device to selectively extend the endpoint to at least one local device that is within a coverage area of the first device, the protocol comprising the steps of:

discovering, by the first device, an identity of the at least one local device;

receiving, by the first device, information describing any sessions in which the at least one local device is participating, from the at least one local device via a session description information message; and

sending a MOVE message to establish the at least one local device as a secondary endpoint of the logical session.

17. A protocol according to claim 16, wherein the step of discovering the identity of the at least one local device includes the step of performing a device discovery operation according to a device discovery protocol.

18. A protocol according to claim 17, wherein the step of discovering the identity of the at least one local device further includes the step of sending a device capability information message from the at least one local device to the first device.

19. A protocol for managing routes used to access session endpoints in an ad-hoc network environment including a plurality of nodes coupled in a predetermined sequence of nodes from an initial node to a final node comprising the steps of:

discovering, by the final node, an identity of a new node, local to the final node, wherein the new node is not in the sequence of nodes;

receiving, by the final node, information describing any sessions in which the new node is participating, from the new node via a session description information message;

sending a MOVE message from the final node to the new node to establish the new node as new final node in the ad-hoc network, the MOVE message including an identifier of an intermediate node in the sequence of nodes from which the final node receives data;

determining, by the new final node if the intermediate node is local to the new final node;

if the intermediate node is local to the new final node, sending a further MOVE message from the new final node to the intermediate node to establish a direct connection between the new final node and the intermediate node; and

sending a TERMINATE message from the new final node to the final node to terminate any session between the final node and the intermediate node.

20. A protocol for managing routes used to access session endpoints in an ad-hoc network environment including a plurality of nodes coupled in a predetermined sequence of nodes from an initial node to a final node comprising the steps of:

discovering, by the final node, an identity of a new node, local to the final node, wherein the new node is not in the sequence of nodes;

receiving, by the final node, information describing any sessions in which the new node is participating, from the new node via a session description information message;

sending a MOVE message from the final node to the new node to establish the new node as new final node in the ad-hoc network;

sending a route optimization message from the new final node to the final node, the route optimization message including an address of the new final node;

forwarding the route optimization message from the new final node to a predecessor node to the final node in the predetermined sequence of nodes;

determining, by the predecessor node if the new final node is local to the predecessor node;

if the new final node is local to the predecessor node, sending a further MOVE message from the predecessor node to the new final node to establish a direct connection between the predecessor node and the new final node; and

sending a TERMINATE message from the predecessor node to the final node to terminate any session between the predecessor node and the final node.

21. A protocol according to claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

sending the route optimization message from the new final node to the predecessor node, the route optimization message including an address of the new final node;

forwarding the route optimization message from the predecessor node to a further node which precedes the predecessor node in the predetermined sequence of nodes;

determining, by the further node if the new final node is local to the further node;

if the new final node is local to the further node, sending a further MOVE message from the further node to the new final node to establish a direct connection between the further node and the new final node; and

sending the TERMINATE message from the further node to the predecessor node to terminate any session between the predecessor node and the new final node.

22. A protocol according to claim 20, further including the steps of:

sending the route optimization message to each successive node in the sequence of nodes that precedes the predecessor node in the predetermined sequence;

in response to receiving the route optimization message, determining, by each successive node in the sequence if the new final node is local to each node;

if the new final node is local to any one node in the sequence of nodes, sending a further MOVE message from the one node to the new final node to establish a direct connection between the one node and the new final node; and

sending a TERMINATE message from the one node to a successor of the one node in the sequence of nodes to terminate any session between the successor node and the new final node.