Accessing Hardware Devices Using Web Server Abstractions

• US 20130060905A1
• Filed: 09/02/2011
• Published: 03/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mickens, James, Zhuang, Li, Lin, Kaisen, Chu, David
• Granted Patent: US 9,716,743 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

In the new architecture, a client that desires access to a piece of hardware sends HTTP requests to a device server. The server receives a HTTP requests, accesses a device on behalf of the client, and send the device'"'"'s response back to the client in the form of an HTTP response. This architecture has three primary advantages. First, it offers a clean interface for clients where all devices are accessed as if they are web servers. Second, it helps make devices more secure whereby clients can be prevented from accessing hardware directly, and all device access is forced through the narrow HTTP access protocol and checked for compliance with a desired security policy. Third, since HTTP allows local and remote servers to be contacted, the proposed architecture makes it easy for clients to communicate with devices that are not physically co-resident with the client but which are accessible via a network connection.

Claims

1. A method for accessing hardware devices by a hardware device server, comprising the steps of:

receiving a HTTP request by the hardware device server from a requesting application, the request including a requested action to be taken and an identified hardware device for performing the requested action to be taken;

sending commands for the requested action to be taken to the identified hardware device from the hardware device server;

receiving a response from the identified hardware device by the hardware device server, the response including a status indication of whether the requested action succeeded and any received device data as a result of the requested action; and

sending a HTTP result to the requesting application by the hardware device server, the result including the received status indication and the received device data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hardware device server is selected from the group consisting of a local hardware device server and a remote hardware device server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the HTTP request further includes device specific parameters and data request;

and

the step of sending commands for the requested action to be taken includes the device specific parameters and the data request.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified hardware device is selected from the group consisting of sensors, processors, storage devices, cameras, microphones, GPS units, accelerometers, other processor cores, graphical processing units, internal memory devices and removable memory devices.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of authenticating that the request from the requesting application is allowed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving an HTTP request from an application comprises receiving HTTP commands as a hardware access protocol.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of authenticating the HTTP request from the requesting application and providing security further includes using manifest authorization, security token exchanges, sensor widget notification and iframes for device handling encapsulation.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of sending the commands for the requested action to be taken to the identified hardware device from the hardware device server and for receiving the response from the identified hardware device by the hardware device server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises:

receiving the HTTP request by the hardware device server from a device protocol translator that presents an API to the requesting application for initiating hardware device access and receiving any resulting status and data;

authenticating the HTTP request from the device protocol translator by the hardware device server; and

sending the HTTP result to the device protocol translator by the hardware device server.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the device protocol translator may access local hardware device servers and remote hardware device servers.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending commands includes a requested action of fetching a single sample from an identified sensor.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending commands includes a requested action of starting a periodic query of an identified sensor by turning on an identified sensor for a predetermined period of time and by turning off the identified sensor after the predetermined time interval.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending commands includes a requested action of queuing a computation kernel for execution by an identified processor, setting input data for a computation pipeline, and running a computation of queued kernels on the input data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending commands includes a requested action for putting a value by key in storename in an identified storage device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of sending commands includes a requested action for getting a value by key in storename in an identified storage device.

16. A method for accessing one or more hardware devices using arbitrary network protocols whereby a hardware device server acts as a mediator for enabling hardware devices to respond to network protocol commands.

17. The method of claim 16, whereby the hardware device server executes as a simple native code application in a separate process on a local machine and exports a web server interface on the local machine.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving network protocol commands by the hardware device server for performing operations on attached hardware devices and returning requested data via the network protocol commands.

19. One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions for accessing one or more hardware devices using network protocols whereby a hardware device server acts as a mediator for enabling hardware devices to respond to network protocol commands for performing the requested accessing operations without requiring intervention by the application.

20. The one or more computer storage media of claim 19, further comprising returning data from the one or more hardware devices by the hardware device server by responding to network protocol commands from requesting computer applications.