Peer-to-Peer Communication Pipes
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Abstract
A system and method for establishing communications channels between and among peers in a peer-to-peer networking environment. Pipes may be used as communication channels for sending and receiving messages and other data between services or applications over input and output endpoints. Pipes may be asynchronous, unidirectional, stateless and unreliable. Bidirectional pipes may also be supported. Pipes may have ends that may be moved around and bound to different peers at different times. Point-to-point and propagate pipes may be supported. Pipes may connect peers that have a direct physical link and peers that do not have a direct link. Peers may communicate through pipes without knowing on which peer a pipe endpoint is bound. A message is sent to all peer endpoints currently connected (listening) to the pipe. The set of connected endpoints may be obtained from a pipe service using a pipe binding protocol.
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Citations
81 Claims
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1-66. -66. (canceled)
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67. A peer node comprising:
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a network interface operable to couple to a network;
a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable within the peer node to;
receive a message from another peer node on the network in accordance with a pipe binding protocol, wherein the message identifies a pipe and specifies a network transport protocol of the pipe, wherein the pipe represents a virtual communications channel for communicating between the other peer node and one or more other peer nodes on the network;
obtain information specifying an endpoint of one of the one or more other peer nodes on the network, wherein the endpoint of the one of the one or more other peer nodes corresponds to and uniquely identifies a network interface of the one of the one or more other peer nodes, wherein the network interface of the one of the one or more other peer nodes implements the network transport protocol of the pipe; and
send a response message to the other peer node in accordance with the pipe binding protocol, wherein the response message specifies the endpoint of the one of the one or more other peer nodes. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
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81-187. -187. (canceled)
Specification