Dynamic self-configuration for ad hoc peer networking

• US 20040260800A1
• Filed: 05/03/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leach, Paul J., Knight, Holly, Ford, Peter S., Goland, Yaron Y., Gu, Ye
• Granted Patent: US 7,487,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• 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 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A device control model provides an integrated set of addressing, naming, discovery and description processes that enables automatic, dynamic and ad-hoc self-setup by devices to interoperate with other devices on a network. This permits a computing device when introduced into a network to automatically configure so as to connect and interact with other computing devices available on the network, without a user installation experience and without downloading driver software or persisting a configuration setup for connecting and interacting with such other computing devices. Upon completing interaction with such other devices, the computing device automatically releases the setup for such other devices so as to avoid persistent device configurations that might create a configuration maintenance and management burden.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A method of dynamically configuring a computing device, the method comprising:

obtaining a device address for the computing device on a network;

sending a discovery message on the network to discover an other computing device on the network;

establishing a communications connection with the other computing device;

obtaining descriptive data from the other computing device to which a communications connection is established, such descriptive data defining a protocol for invocation of a base set of operational functions of the computing device;

whereby the computing device automatically self-configures to control the operational functions of the other computing device.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the descriptive data is in a mark-up language format.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the mark-up language is XML.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein the base set of operational functions of the computing device comprises configuration data.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein the base set of operational functions of the computing device comprises status information.

30. The method of claim 25 further comprising extending the base set of operational functions to include further operational functions.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the protocol for invocation of a base set of operational functions is Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

32. The method of claim 25 wherein the computing device writes descriptive data to the other computing device.

33. The method of claim 25 wherein the descriptive data comprises the computing device address.

34. A computer-readable medium having encoded thereon a software program executable on a computing device for dynamically self-configuring a computing device upon introduction on a network to interoperate with other devices on the network, said software program comprising:

an addressing module operating to configure an address upon introduction of the computing device on the network;

an announcing module operating to send a message announcing the address assigned to the computing device;

a discovery module operating to listen for a discovery message on the network, the discovery message having an identifier to identify an other computing device;

a discovery response receiving module operating upon receipt of the discovery message to send a response message to the discovery message; and

a description module operating upon receipt of a description request received by the computing device on the network for sending a description message defining a protocol for interaction via data messaging of the computing device with the other computing device, the other computing device configured to remotely operate the computing device.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein the response message is formatted according to a mark-up language.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein the protocol for interaction via data messages is SOAP.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein the discovery module searches for a predetermined computing device name on the network.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the predetermined computing device name is a URL.

36. The computer-readable medium 34 wherein the protocol for interaction via data messages is extensible.

40. In a computing device, a method for dynamically self-configuring the computing device, upon introduction of the computing device on a network, to interoperate with other devices on the network, the method comprising:

obtaining a dynamically assigned address upon introduction of the computing device on the network;

utilizing a naming protocol to resolve device names of an other computing device present on the network;

sending a discovery message to the other computing device on the network, the discovery message identifying the other computing device;

receiving a response to the discovery message identifying the other computing device;

utilizing a device description protocol to obtain data descriptive of a protocol for invoking operational functions of the computing device, whereby the computing device automatically self-configures to establish a communications connection with the other computing device present on the network and interacts with the other computing device using the described protocol for invoking a set of operational functions.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the set of operational functions comprises an extensible set of operational functions.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the set of operational functions comprises reading and writing data to the computing device.

43. The method of claim 40 wherein the device description protocol is SOAP.

44. The method of claim 40 wherein the data descriptive of a protocol for invoking operation functions of the computing device is formatted in a mark-up language.