SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCED EXPERIENCE WITH A PEER TO PEER NETWORK

• US 20080140780A1
• Filed: 11/06/2007
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kroll Information Assurance LLC
• Original Assignee: Tiversa, Inc. (Tiversa Holding Corp.)
• Inventors: Hopkins, Samuel P., Gormley, Christopher L., Boback, Robert J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,021,026 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1834 implemented based on peer-to-peer networks, e.g. gnutella p2p communication protocols H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1055 involving connection limits involving dynamic management of active down- or uploading connections H04L67/1085
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1072 Discovery involving ranked list compilation of candidate peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data

Abstract

A system and method for implementing a peer to peer (P2P) network that includes a plurality of nodes, wherein each of a majority of the nodes has less than a threshold number of P2P connections to other nodes in the network, A P2P network connection is established between a first node from the majority and an enhanced connection node in the network, wherein the enhanced connection node has more than the threshold number of P2P connections to other nodes in the network. A search request is issued from the first node by transmitting the search request from the first node to the enhanced connection node, and then forwarding the search request from the enhanced connection node to other nodes in the network. Responses to the search request are collected at the enhanced connection node, which filters, ranks or adds additional content to the responses prior to forwarding the responses back to the first node

Claims

1. A method for implementing a peer to peer ((P2P) network that includes a plurality of nodes, wherein each of a majority of the nodes has less than a threshold number of P2P connections to other nodes in the network, said method comprising:

(a) establishing a P2P network connection between a first node from said majority and an enhanced connection node in the network, wherein the enhanced connection node has more than the threshold number of P2P connections to other nodes in the network;

(b) issuing a search request from the first node by transmitting the search request from the first node to the enhanced connection node, and then forwarding the search request from the enhanced connection node to other nodes in the network; and

(c) collecting, at the enhanced connection node, responses to the search request, and thereafter performing at least one of the following steps at the enhanced connection node;

(i) filtering said responses, and then forwarding results of the filtering to the first node;

(ii) ranking said responses, and then forwarding ranked responses to the first node; and

(iii) adding additional content to said responses, and forwarding said additional content and at least some of said responses to the first node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional content in step (c)(iii) is an advertisement selected in response to one or more search terms included in the search request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhanced connection node accesses user profile information associated with the first node, and step (c) further comprises performing at least one of the following steps at the enhanced connection node:

(i) filtering said responses in accordance with the profile information, and then forwarding results of the filtering to the first node;

(ii) ranking said responses in accordance with the profile information, and then forwarding ranked responses to the first node; and

(iii) adding additional content to said responses wherein the additional content is selected at least in part using the profile information, and forwarding said additional content and at least some of said responses to the first node.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhanced connection node includes dedicated content that is unavailable on all other nodes in the network, or pointers to dedicated content that is unavailable on all other nodes in the network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first node uses middleware on the first node to establish the P2P network connection between the first node and the enhanced connection node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhanced connection node sends a cached list of search responses back to the first node.

6. The method of claim 6, wherein the middleware monitors for transmission of content that should not be shared on the P2P network and performs at least one of the following:

(i) blocks transmission of the content that should not be shared; and

(ii) notifies another system that there has been transmission of content that should not be shared.

8. A system for implementing a peer to peer ((P2P) network that includes a plurality of nodes, wherein each of a majority of the nodes has less than a threshold number of P2P connections to other nodes in the network, comprising:

(a) an enhanced connection node in the network, wherein the enhanced connection node has a P2P network connection to a first node from said majority, and wherein the enhanced connection node has more than the threshold number of P2P connections to other nodes in the network;

(b) software on the first node that issues a search request from the first node by transmitting the search request from the first node to the enhanced connection node;

(c) software on the enhanced connection node that forwards the search request from the enhanced connection node to other nodes in the network, and collects, at the enhanced connection node, responses to the search request, and thereafter performs at least one of the following at the enhanced connection node;

(i) filters said responses, and then forwards results of the filtering to the first node;

(ii) ranks said responses, and then forwards ranked responses to the first node; and

(iii) adds additional content to said responses, and forwards said additional content and at least some of said responses to the first node.