METHOD & APPARATUS FOR LOAD BALANCING SOFTWARE UPDATE ACROSS A PLURALITY OF PUBLISH/SUBSCRIBE CAPABLE CLIENT DEVICES

• US 20110289496A1
• Filed: 05/18/2010
• Published: 11/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: North End Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: North End Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: STEER, JONATHAN P.
• Application Number:
  US12/782,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20110289496A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A plurality of client communication devices, such as robotic devices, are in communication over a network with a software update service that periodically provides update software files to the client devices. The client devices register with the update service and are assigned a database queue in which an update software file is stored for the client device. Periodically, and according to a selected set of rules, the update service notifies the client devices that they can retrieve update software from a database maintained by the update service. In response to notification of the availability of a software update by the service, the client devices can send a request to the database to download the latest version of a software file.

Claims

1. Method for updating software included in a pub/sub capable communication device, comprising:

the pub/sub capable communication device sending a message to a software update manager requesting to subscribe to an update software service;

the software update manager receiving the subscription request message, assigning the pub/sub capable communication device to a subscription queue associated with one of a plurality of XMPP servers according the a predefined set of rules and sending a message to the pub/sub capable communication device indicating that an updated software file is available;

the pub/sub capable communication device receiving the message indicating the updated software is available and sending a message to the XMPP server requesting the updated software file; and

the XMPP server receiving the message with the request for the updated software file from the pub/sub capable communication device, fetching the updated software file from the subscription queue with which it is associated, and sending the update software file to the requesting pub/sub capable communication device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication device is a robotic device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the pub/sub capable communication device is connected to a wide area network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the software update manager, the XMPP servers and the database are all connected to the same local area network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the software update manager, the XMPP servers and the database are connected to different local area networks.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is an instant message.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the software update files are stored in an assigned subscriber update queue.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined set of rules are instructions to assign client communications devices to a subscriber update queue according to one or a statistical round-robin scheme and the time of day that the client device is turned on.