NODE VALIDATION IN A NETWORK

• US 20140059044A1
• Filed: 08/21/2013
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines SA (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Baldwin, Timothy J., Johnson, Peter J., Locke, David, Xu, Fenglian
• Granted Patent: US 9,342,560 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence

Abstract

A method of operating a network of connected nodes comprises the steps of maintaining a trust value for each node in the network, maintaining one or more attributes for each node in the network, each attribute comprising a value and a respective confidence level, and performing a validation of a specific attribute of a specific node. The validation comprises the steps of querying nodes connected to the specific node for specific attribute values for the specific node, creating a results set from the returned attribute values from the connected nodes and the trust values of the connected nodes, and processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value and/or a new confidence level for the specific attribute of the specific node.

Claims

1. A method of operating a network of connected nodes, the method comprising the steps of:

maintaining a trust value for each node in the network;

maintaining one or more attributes for each node in the network, each attribute comprising a value and a respective confidence level; and

performing a validation of a specific attribute of a specific node, the validation comprising;

querying nodes connected to the specific node for specific attribute values for the specific node;

creating a results set from the returned attribute values from the connected nodes and the trust values of the connected nodes; and

processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value and/or a new confidence level for the specific attribute of the specific node.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new trust value for one or more of the nodes connected to the specific node.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising adjusting the confidence level of an attribute previously validated by a connected node that has a new determined trust value.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value for the specific attribute of the specific node comprises setting the new value of the specific attribute of the specific node to the value returned by the connected node with greatest trust value.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value for the specific attribute of the specific node comprises setting the new value of the specific attribute of the specific node to the value returned by the greatest number of connected nodes.

6. A system for operating a network of connected nodes, the system comprising a processing device connected to a storage device, wherein:

the storage device is arranged to maintain a trust value for each node in the network and maintain one or more attributes for each node in the network, each attribute comprising a value and a respective confidence level; and

the processing device is arranged to perform a validation of a specific attribute of a specific node, the validation comprising;

querying nodes connected to the specific node for specific attribute values for the specific node;

creating a results set from the returned attribute values from the connected nodes and the trust values of the connected nodes; and

processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value and/or a new confidence level for the specific attribute of the specific node.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the processing device is further arranged to process the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new trust value for one or more of the nodes connected to the specific node.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the processing device is further arranged to adjust the confidence level of an attribute previously validated by a connected node that has a new determined trust value.

9. A system according to claim 6, wherein the processing device is arranged, when processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm, to determine a new value for the specific attribute of the specific node, to set the new value of the specific attribute of the specific node to the value returned by the connected node with greatest trust value.

10. A system according to claim 6, wherein the processing device is arranged, when processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm, to determine a new value for the specific attribute of the specific node, to set the new value of the specific attribute of the specific node to the value returned by the greatest number of connected nodes.

11. A computer program product for operating a network of connected nodes, the computer program product comprising a computer readable device and instructions stored on the computer readable device that are operable for:

maintaining a trust value for each node in the network;

maintaining one or more attributes for each node in the network, each attribute comprising a value and a respective confidence level; and

performing a validation of a specific attribute of a specific node, the validation comprising;

querying nodes connected to the specific node for specific attribute values for the specific node;

creating a results set from the returned attribute values from the connected nodes and the trust values of the connected nodes; and

processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value and/or a new confidence level for the specific attribute of the specific node.

12. A computer program product according to claim 11, further comprising instructions for processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new trust value for one or more of the nodes connected to the specific node.

13. A computer program product according to claim 12, further comprising instructions for adjusting the confidence level of an attribute previously validated by a connected node that has a new determined trust value.

14. A computer program product according to claim 11, wherein the instructions for processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value for the specific attribute of the specific node comprise instructions for setting the new value of the specific attribute of the specific node to the value returned by the connected node with greatest trust value.

15. A computer program product according to claim 11, wherein the instructions for processing the results set according to a predefined algorithm to determine a new value for the specific attribute of the specific node comprise instructions for setting the new value of the specific attribute of the specific node to the value returned by the greatest number of connected nodes.