METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH GROUPS OF DEVICES SHARING AN ATTRIBUTE

• US 20120151561A1
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kreiner, Barrett, Reeves, Jonathan, Schaub, Ryan
• Granted Patent: US 9,077,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1845 broadcast or multicast in a specific location, e.g. geocast protocols for adapting network applications to user terminal location H04L67/52; services specially adapted for wireless communication networks making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/14 for detecting or protecting against malicious traffic

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for IPv6 based multicast are disclosed. An example method includes broadcasting a multicast group address advertisement instructing a recipient device to join an Internet Protocol multicast group, the Internet Protocol multicast group being associated with a physical attribute of the recipient device; and broadcasting a multicast message to the multicast address instructing the members of the multicast group to perform an action.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A method of joining a multicast group, the method comprising:

receiving an Internet message using an Internet Protocol version 6 protocol identifying a multicast group at a device, the multicast group being associated with an attribute of the device;

determining, at the device, if the device is already associated with the multicast group; and

joining the multicast group if the device is not associated with the multicast group.

9. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the attribute is a geographic location.

10. The method as described in claim 9, wherein the multicast group is a first multicast group and the device becomes a member of the first multicast group and remains a member of a second multicast group, the second multicast group being associated with a prior geographic location of the device.

11. The method as described in claim 10, wherein the prior geographic location comprises a distribution center, a manufacturing location, or a point of sale.

12. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the attribute is a model of the device.

13. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the multicast group is an Internet Protocol version 6 multicast group.

14. The method as described in claim 8, wherein joining the multicast group further comprises sending a user response indicating permission for the device to join the multicast group.

15. The method as described in claim 8, further comprising:

determining if the multicast group is contained in a do-not-join list;

requesting a user response indicating permission for the device to join the multicast group if the multicast group is not contained in the do-not-join list; and

adding the multicast group to the do-not-join list if the user response indicating permission for the device to join the multicast group is not received.

16. The method as described in claim 15, further comprising joining the multicast group if the user response indicating permission for the device to join the multicast group is received.

17. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the message identifying the multicast group further comprises a key.

18. The method as described in claim 17, wherein the key is a private key and is used to decrypt communications transmitted to the multicast group.

19. A method of authentication comprising:

receiving a request from a device to join a service;

creating an account;

requesting a first list of multicast group memberships of the device, the first list of multicast group memberships indicating group memberships of the device at a first time; and

associating the first list of multicast group memberships of the device with the account.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving a request to access the service from the device;

requesting a second list of current multicast group memberships of the device, the second list of multicast group memberships indicating group memberships of the device at a second time later than the first time;

comparing the first list of multicast addresses to the second list of multicast addresses to determine if the multicast addresses of the first list of multicast addresses are present in the second list of multicast addresses; and

authenticating the device if the multicast addresses of the first list of multicast addresses are present in the second list of multicast addresses.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the list of multicast addresses represents a history of physical locations of the device.

22-24. -24. (canceled)

25. An apparatus comprising:

a network communicator to receive network communications;

an address broadcast listener to monitor the network communications for multicast group advertisements;

an address store;

an address adder to selectively add a multicast address to the address store in response to a received multicast group advertisement; and

an address query responder to respond to a request for an address stored in the address store.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

a key store to store a private key associated with the multicast address; and

a communications decrypter to decrypt communications to the device via the multicast address using the private key associated with the multicast address.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising a blocked address store to store a list of multicast addresses that the address adder will not add to the address store.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

a user interface to receive user input, the address adder to add the multicast address to the address store only when an approval is received via the received user input.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the address adder is to add the multicast address to a blocked address store when disapproval is received via the user input.