Method to realize dynamic networking and resource sharing among equipments

• US 20060155802A1
• Filed: 05/16/2003
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Li, Ming, Jiang, Shan, Huang, Jingnan, Luo, Yujin, He, Zhiqiang, Liu, Xiangdong, Zhang, Yuanyi, Zhang, Dekui, Ren, Yanpin, Meng, Chuang
• Application Number:
  US10/514,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155802A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery

Abstract

The invention relates to a method allowing dynamically networking among a plurality of devices to share resource. It includes: installing a software of dynamic networking and resource sharing on each of devices to realize dynamic networking and resource sharing. These devices periodically announce information with multicasting. A device serves as node control device, and announces the message of the existence of the device through multicasting, creates a node. A device can find the node by monitoring announcement message from the node. The device which requests to join into the node device registers its service information that can be provided by the device to the node control device. The device which has joined into the node finds the device providing service by indexing the nodal control device, and obtains desired service from the device by sending a service calling information. The method is applied to home backbone network for performing networking in home network. Then a topology connection structure with master/slave and peer-to-peer modes can be realized. The dynamic networking and resource sharing between the service providing device and the service utilizing device in the home backbone network can be realized.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices, comprising the steps of:

A1. installing a set of dynamic networking and resource sharing module on each of devices desired to realize dynamic networking and resource sharing, said module set including a network transmission layer module for transmitting and receiving data;

a device management layer module for controlling and managing the connection among the devices;

a service management layer module for performing a service management for the device itself and a node, these devices periodically sending device announcement messages to the network with multicasting;

B1. a device serves as a node control device and announces a message of the existence of the device with multicasting so as to create a node;

C1. a device finds the node by monitoring a node announcement message, and a device which request to join into the node registers its service information which can be provided to the node control device of the node;

or the node control device configures other devices on the network so as to make said device has to register its service information which can be provided to the node control device and joins into the node;

D1. the device which has joined into the node finds a device providing service by indexing the node control device, and obtains a desired service from said device by sending a service calling message.

2. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein said nodes comprise a global node and a specific node, service entities on all devices belong to the same global node in default, and a service entity on any one of the devices can create a specific node other than the global node.

3. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein in said step A1, the devices periodically send the device announcement messages to the network with multicasting, said device announcement message at least includes a network addressing identification of the device, a device description information, and service information carried by the device.

4. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein in said step B1, a device serving as the node control device may be designated by a user or dynamically generated.

5. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein in said step B1, the announcement message of the node control device at least includes a network addressing identification of the node control device, the type of the node, a node identifier of the node and other relevant property information.

6. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein in said step B1, a lifetime of the node in the network is same as the duration of the creating and the removing of the node;

when the node control device cancels a created node, it sends a node quitting notice to all the devices in the node.

7. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein said Step C1 further comprises a step of a device which quits the node cancels the service information which can be provided by the device from the node control device of the node.

8. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein the indexing in said Step D1 is performed by looking up the nodes existing in the network in an active mode by the device, said active mode refers to that the device sends a node looking up message to the network with multicasting, and the node control device satisfying the looking up criteria sends the node announcement message to the device which performs the looking up with unicasting.

9. A method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, wherein the indexing in said Step D1 is performed by looking up the nodes existing in the network in a passive mode by the device, said passive mode refers to that the device monitors a designated multicasting address to obtain the message of the node in the same broadcasting domain or different broadcasting domain.

10. A method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices according to claim 1, further comprises a communicating method among nodes, including the steps of:

E1. a source node control device and a destination node control device respectively send respective node announcement messages of their own nodes to the network;

F1. the source node control device and the destination node control device establish resource sharing between the two nodes, and exchange resource information by using procedures of initiating request and receiving request respectively;

G1. the device within the source node sends a request, which is transferred by the destination node control device, to its node control device to call for the resource of a device within the destination node;

H1. the device within the destination node sends back a resource calling response, which is transferred by the source node control device, to the device within the source node.

11. A networking method for a home backbone network, comprising the steps of

A2. providing at least one service providing device for providing services to other devices in the home network;

B2. providing at least one service utilizing device for utilizing the services provided by other devices in the home network;

C2. providing at least one protocol gateway for connecting the home backbone network with an external network;

D2. connecting the service providing device, the service utilizing device and the protocol gateway by using a broadband and high rate home backbone network protocol to form the home backbone network.

12. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 11, wherein the service providing device and the service utilizing device in said Steps A2 and B2 may exist on the same physical device.

13. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 11, wherein said home backbone network adopts a wired transmission mode or a wireless transmission mode or both of them.

14. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 11, wherein said service providing device or said service utilizing device or said protocol gateway is designated as a resource management device of the home backbone network so as to constitute a backbone network topological structure of Master/Slave connection mode between the resource management device and other devices, and the resource management device performs centralized control to the other devices.

15. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 14, wherein said centralized control includes that the service providing device and/or the service utilizing device, after successfully registering to the resource management device, join into the home backbone network, as well as the service utilizing device which has joined into the home backbone network indexes services from the resource management device.

16. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 11, wherein a peer-to-peer connecting backbone network topological structure consists of said service providing device, said service utilizing device and said protocol gateway connected in a peer-to-peer connecting mode.

17. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 16, wherein said peer-to-peer connection is performed in such a manner that a source device requesting connection sends a peer-to-peer connection creation request to a destination device and the destination device send a peer-to-peer connection creation response to the source device.

18. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 17, wherein said destination device and source device can be the service providing device or the service utilizing device for each other.

19. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 11, wherein said service providing device and service utilizing device are interchangeable, and a home backbone network can be both a service providing device and a service utilizing device.

20. The networking method for a home backbone network according to claim 11, wherein the home backbone network is implemented by a wired Ethernet network, or a wireless Ethernet network, or by the combination of a wired and wireless Ethernet network.

21. A method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network, comprising the steps of:

A3. connecting a home network device to a local area network (LAN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN);

B3. multicasting information of said device by issuing an announcement message of said device;

C3. obtaining an message of existence of other devices by monitoring or looking up the announcement message;

D4. a service utilizing device and a service providing device, together with one resource management device, constituting one home network by registering to said resource management device;

or more than one service utilizing devices and service providing devices constituting one home network by using peer-to-peer connecting mode;

E3. the service utilizing device which has joined into the home backbone network obtains service information of the service providing device within the home backbone network by sending a service looking up request to the resource management device, and the service utilizing device obtains a right to use a service, and uses the service provided by the service providing device by sending a service renting request or a service calling request;

or the service utilizing device obtains service information of a service providing device and a right to use a service, and uses the service provided by the service providing device by sending a service looking up request, a service renting request and a service calling request to the service providing device which has established a peer-to-peer connection with the service utilizing device.

22. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein in said Step A3, said home backbone network includes information devices, communication devices and entertainment devices, information of the device and services thereof is encapsulated and issued in accordance with a description specification of a device and its services of a backbone network protocol.

23. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 22, wherein the backbone network protocol stack includes a transmission management layer for data interaction among devices and services, an intermediate protocol layer for realizing an interconnection and resource sharing among the devices in the home network, and application support layer for providing an API access interface for an upper layer application program.

24. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein in said step B3, the device periodically announces its own information with multicasting, and the issued announcement message at least includes a network addressing identification of the device, a device description information, and service information carried by the device.

25. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein in said step C3, said monitoring includes that the device obtains the messages of existence of other devices by monitoring the announcement messages of other devices;

and said looking up includes that the device sends a message to look up other devices with multicasting, and a device which receives the looking up message multicast returns its own device announcement message with unicasting when the conditions of the device itself is consistent with the looking up conditions contained in the looking up message.

26. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein in said step D3, when the resource management device is designated in the service utilizing or service providing device, the service utilizing device or service providing device initiates a registering procedure to the designated resource management device existing in the network;

when the resource management device is not designated in the service utilizing or service providing device, the service utilizing device or service providing device initiates a registering procedure to an arbitrary resource management device existing in the network.

27. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein in said step D3, said service utilizing device or service providing device only registers to one resource management device at the same time.

28. The method to realize dynamic networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein said step D3 further comprises steps of the service providing device which has successfully registered to the resource management device registers its own service to the resource management device, and the resource management device maintains all devices and their service information registered thereto.

29. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein in said step D3, i.e. the step of more than one devices constitute one home backbone network by using peer-to-peer connecting mode, further comprises the steps of a device obtains the messages of existence of other devices by monitoring multicast announcement messages of other devices, and a device initiates a peer-to-peer connection establishing request to other devices so as to request services on other devices.

30. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein said step D3 further comprises a establishing procedure of a security mechanism, including the steps of:

D31. the resource management device sends authentication information to the devices joined into the home network, wherein a key configuration management program is responsible to a authentication key thereof and if the authentication is passed, then the registration is successful;

D32. performing a connection authentication between two peer-to-peer connected devices, a connection authentication key being issued by the key configuration management program and being maintained locally by the two peer-to-peer connected devices.

31. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 30, wherein in said steps, a private key is negotiated between the devices in the home backbone network, a key configuration management program charges for a configuration of a connection authentication key, and a transmission key between the two devices is established on the basis of said connection authentication key so as to perform a secure transmission.

32. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 30, wherein the step of configuring the key by said key configuration management program comprises that the key configuration management program sends out an authentication configuration message in a form of multicasting;

if the device, after receiving the message, judges that it is in a state that no key is set, the device then sends a key configuration request in response to the message; and

the configuration management program sets a corresponding key in response to the configuration request.

33. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 30, wherein said key configuration management program is provided on the resource management device or a device having human-computer interacting capability in the home backbone network.

34. The method for dynamically networking and resource sharing among devices in a home backbone network according to claim 21, wherein the service utilizing device or the service providing device quits the home network by sending a device cancellation request to the resource management device, the resource management device deletes registration information of the device and registered service information thereon;

or the service utilizing device initiates an announcement request to release the connection to the service providing device, and then quits the home network.