Re-establishing a connection for an application layer via a service layer

• US 20060271681A1
• Filed: 05/31/2005
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kolluru, Nagendra V., Apreutesei, Elena, Bobde, Nikhil
• Granted Patent: US 7,594,020 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• 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 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A method and system for establishing a connection with a server after a connection has been broken is provided. A connection system in a service layer of a client detects that a connection between the client and the server has been broken. Upon detecting the broken connection, the connection system of the service layer automatically attempts to re-establish an application-level connection to the server. If the connection system can re-establish an application-level connection to the server, then it need not notify the application layer of the broken connection.

Claims

1. A method in a client for establishing a connection with a server, the client having an application layer and a service layer, the method comprising:

under control of the service layer,

providing to the application layer services for accessing the server including a service for establishing an application-level connection between the client and the server;

detecting that the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection; and

after detecting that the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection, attempting to re-establish an application-level connection between the client and a server; and

when an application-level connection is re-established with a server, resuming the providing of services to the application layer; and

when an application-level connection is not re-established with a server, notifying the application layer that the client no longer has an application-level connection to the server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a communications layer controls the transport of application-level messages to the server via a communications-level connection and wherein the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection when the communications-level connection is broken.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients and the re-established connection is with a server other than the server to which the client was last connected.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection, delaying the performing of the requested service until the application-level connection is re-established.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection, notifying the application layer that the service is temporarily unavailable.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is a presence server.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is an instant messaging server.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the application-level connection is established by the client logging on to the server.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients, wherein a communications layer controls the transport of application-level messages to the server via a communications-level connection, wherein the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection when the communications-level connection is broken, and wherein the application-level connection is established by the client logging on to the server.

10. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for a service layer of a client to log the client on to a server, the client having an application layer and a service layer, by a method comprising:

detecting that the client is no longer logged on to the server; and

after detecting that the client is no longer connected to the server, attempting to log the client on to the server without notifying the application layer; and

when the attempt is successful, providing services to the application layer; and

when the attempt is not successful, notifying the application layer that the client is no longer logged on to the server.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the client is no longer logged on to the server when a connection between the client and the server is broken.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the connection is a TCP connection.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the server is in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the client is logged on to the server when an application-level connection is established between the client and the server.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the server is selected from the group consisting of a presence server and an instant messaging server.

16. A service layer for providing services through a server to an application layer of a client, comprising:

a component that connects the client to the server;

a component that detects that the client is no longer connected to the server; and

a component that, without notifying the application layer, attempts to re-establish a connection between the client and the server after detecting that the client is no longer connected to the server.

17. The service layer of claim 16 including a component that provides services to the application layer when an attempt is successful and a component that notifies the application layer that the client is no longer connected to the server when the attempt is not successful.

18. The service layer of claim 16 wherein the connection is an application-level connection.

19. The service layer of claim 18 wherein the detecting includes detecting that a communications-level connection between the server and the client is broken.

20. The service layer of claim 18 wherein application-level messages are sent to the server using a lower-level connectionless communications protocol.