METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGEMENT OF A VIRTUAL NETWORK CONNECTION WITHOUT HEARTBEAT MESSAGES

• US 20130268655A1
• Filed: 04/03/2013
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Seven Networks Inc
• Inventors: Luna, Michael, Tervahauta, Mikko, Pan, Yixin
• Granted Patent: US 8,812,695 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states

Abstract

Systems and methods for management of a network connection without heartbeat messages are disclosed. One embodiment of a distributed proxy system performs a method for the communication of state between a client and a server in a distributed content delivery network using a state map. The state map sets a predicted communication correspondence frequency and thus eliminates the use or need of heart beat messages to manage session state and/or convey health status of system components.

Claims

1. A method which uses a state map to determine session state at a device, the method comprising:

using the state map to assess if or when activity is expected or predicted to occur at the device;

wherein, if the activity does not occur when expected or predicted, the device sends a request for information which would have been received as a result of the activity or resets a cache state on the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the state map is used to maintain the session state such that messages need not be transmitted in a wireless network to maintain or determine the session state of the device with another entity in the wireless network.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein, the state map is determined from information gathered at the device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, the information includes device or application usage patterns of a user of the device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, the state map is determined from information gathered in the wireless network.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, the information gathered in the wireless network includes one or more of network capacity, network congestion, network bandwidth, network generation or network outage.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, the state map is stored in a local proxy on the device.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein, the other entity is a proxy server in a distributed proxy or cache system in the wireless network remote from the device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, the cache state is maintained between the proxy server and the device and resets when the activity does not occur when expected or predicted.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein, the other entity includes a content host to receive the request for information which would have been received as the result of the activity.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein, the if and when the activity is expected to occur is represented by a quantitative value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, the quantitative value includes a threshold value of a lack of or no communication to or from the device as determined from the state map.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein, the state map is specific to the device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, the threshold value is specific to a user of the device or habits of the user of the device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein, the threshold value is specific to a mobile application from which the activity is expected to occur.

16. The method of claim, 12, wherein, the threshold value is specific to communication patterns of the mobile application.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, the communication patterns include communication patterns during foreground mode.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein, the communication patterns include communication patterns during background mode.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein, the device has access to thereon multiple mobile applications, and different threshold values are associated with each of the multiple mobile applications.

20. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a processor causes a method to be performed by a mobile device to maintain session state information of a mobile device without a need to transmit health-status messages in a network, the method, comprising

using the state status of the mobile device to assess if or when communication is expected or predicted to occur at the mobile device;

wherein, the state status is used to maintain the session state such that health-status messages need not be transmitted in the network to maintain or convey the session state of mobile device such that resources of the network is conserved;

wherein, the state status is determined from information specific to the mobile network to which the mobile device is connected.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, if the communication does not occur when expected or predicted, the device sends a request for information which would have been received as a result of the activity.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein, if the communication does not occur when expected or predicted, the device resets a cache state on the device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, the reset of the cache state on the device, includes invalidation of cache entries that are cached from long poll requests.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein, the reset of the cache state on the device, includes invalidation of cache entries that are cached in a local cache on the device;

wherein, the cache entries include responses from a source that employ a cache defeat mechanism.

25. A mobile device which maintains state information without a need to transmit health-status messages in a network, the mobile device, comprising:

a radio;

a processing unit;

a memory unit having instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processing unit, causes the mobile device to;

use a state status of the mobile device to assess if or when communication is expected or predicted to occur at the mobile device;

wherein, the state status is used to maintain the session state such that health-status messages need not be transmitted in the network to maintain or convey the session state of mobile device such that resources of the network is conserved.

26. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein, the state status is determined from information specific to the mobile network to which the mobile device is connected.

27. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein, the state status is determined from what applications are accessed via the mobile device.

28. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein, the state status is determined from what applications are running.

29. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein, the state status is determined from what applications are in the foreground or in the background on the mobile device.

30. A system to maintain session state without a need to transmit health-status messages in a network, the system, comprising

means for, using a state status of a session state to assess if or when communication is expected or predicted to occur at an entity in the network;

wherein, the if and when the activity is expected to occur is represented by a quantitative value;

wherein, the quantitative value includes a threshold value of a lack of or no communication in the network;

wherein, the state status is used to maintain the session state such that health-status messages need not be transmitted in the network to maintain or convey the session state such that resources of the network is conserved;

wherein, the state status is determined from information specific to the network.