SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR UNMARSHALLED ROUTING

• US 20120250688A1
• Filed: 04/02/2011
• Published: 10/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Open Invention Network LLC
• Original Assignee: Recursion Software, Inc.
• Inventors: Ye, Qin, Peterson, Robert W., Wheeler, Thomas T.
• Granted Patent: US 9,143,440 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/34 Source routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/566 Routing instructions carried by the data packet, e.g. active networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/74 Address processing for routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

In distributed object computing, messages from a source node to a destination node are often required to be routed via one or more intermediate nodes. In order to enhance efficiency of the relay process, a message envelope of a message may include a node list field that specifies the routing path of the message. The communication protocol for communicating the message may specify that when a message is received into a particular node, the node analyzes the node list field. If the identity of the node is last in the node list field, then the node is the destination node and thus the node unmarshals the message. Otherwise, the node forwards the message to the next node in the field list without unmarshalling the message.

Claims

1. A method for communicating a message from a source node to a destination node via one or more intermediate nodes, the method comprising:

determining a node list that specifies a routing sequence of nodes between the source node and the destination node;

generating a message envelope comprising a node list field that specifies the determined node list; and

transmitting the message from the source node.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a payload of the message comprises a class such that the one or more intermediate nodes are unable to unmarshal the message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is encrypted such that the one or more intermediate nodes are unable to decipher the message.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the node list comprises generating a query that specifies the source node and the destination node.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising:

receiving the message in an intermediate node;

determining the next node in the node list from the node list field; and

forwarding the message to the next node.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising forwarding the message without unmarshalling the message.

7. The method of claim 5 comprising forwarding the message without decrypting the message.

8. The method of claim 1 comprising:

receiving the message in the destination node;

determining from the node field list that the destination node is the destination of the message; and

unmarshalling the message.

9. A method for receiving a message sent from a source node toward a destination node at a node on a routing path between the source node and the destination node, the method comprising:

receiving the message at the node on the routing path;

processing a node list field of a message envelope of the message to determine whether a node identity of the node is last in the node list;

if the node identity is last in the node list, unmarshalling the message; and

if the node identity is not the last in the node list, forwarding the message to the next node in the node list.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein forwarding the message comprises forwarding the message without unmarshalling the message.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein a payload of the message comprises a class such that the one or more intermediate nodes are unable to unmarshal the message.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein forwarding the message comprises forwarding the message without decrypting the message.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the message is encrypted such that the one or more intermediate nodes are unable to decipher the message.

14. A computer network comprising a plurality of nodes, each node configured to execute a communication protocol, wherein each node is configured to:

a. generate a message according to the communication protocol;

b. transmit a message according to the communication protocol; and

c. receive a message according to the communication protocol;

d. wherein the communication protocol specifies that a received message is unmarshalled at a node only if the node is a destination node for the message.

15. The computer network according to claim 14 wherein each node is configured to forward a message, and wherein the protocol specifies that a message received at a node that is not the destination node of the message is forwarded without unmarshalling the message.

16. The computer network according to claim 15 wherein each node is configured to analyze a node list field of a message envelope to determine if the respective node is a destination node of the message.

17. The computer network of claim 16 wherein each node is configured to analyze the node list field of the message envelope to determine the next node in a routing path of the message and to forward the message to the next node in the routing path.

18. The computer network according to claim 14 wherein each node is configured to:

determine a routing path for a message generated at the node;

provide the routing path as a node list in a node list field of a message envelope;

transmit the message with the message envelope.

19. The computer network of claim 18 wherein each node is configured to determine the routing path by generating a query that specifies a source node of the message and the destination node of the message.

20. The computer network of claim 19 wherein the routing path comprises one or more intermediate nodes between the source node and the destination node that are unable to unmarshal the message.