LOAD BALANCED INTER-DEVICE MESSAGING

• US 20150088982A1
• Filed: 11/05/2014
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Weaved, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Weaved, Inc.
• Inventors: Johnson, Michael W., Koyama, Ryo, Smith, Michael J.S.
• Application Number:
  US14/534,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20150088982A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1004 Server selection for load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a detailed description of techniques used in methods, systems, and computer program products for using multiple connection URLs to enable load balanced inter-device messaging. The claimed embodiments address the problem of cost-effectively scaling the communications with an increasing number of devices connected to the Internet. More specifically, the claimed embodiments are directed to approaches for registering a listener device (e.g., mobile phone or handset) to receive messages from one or more notification devices (e.g., web camera), selecting a notification server from multiple servers to receive each notification message (e.g., using multiple URLs) and forward the message (e.g., through a push service) to the listener device. The selection of the notification server can be based on load balancing the multiple servers.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

registering a listener device to receive messages from one or more notification devices;

selecting a notification server from a plurality of servers to receive a notification message from at least one notification device;

receiving the notification message at the notification server; and

forwarding the notification message from the notification server to the listener device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification server is selected to load balance the plurality of servers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification server is selected randomly.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification message is contained within an IP protocol message directed to a first function.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising intercepting the IP protocol message.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the IP protocol message is intercepted by a processor that emulates the first function.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the processor that emulates the first function modifies the IP protocol message to emulate a second function that is different from the first function.

8. A computer program product, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a process, the process comprising:

registering a listener device to receive messages from one or more notification devices;

selecting a notification server from a plurality of servers to receive a notification message from at least one notification device;

receiving the notification message at the notification server; and

forwarding the notification message from the notification server to the listener device.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the notification server is selected to load balance the plurality of servers.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the notification server is selected randomly.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the notification message is contained within an IP protocol message directed to a first function.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising instructions for intercepting the IP protocol message.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the IP protocol message is intercepted by a processor that emulates the first function.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the processor that emulates the first function modifies the IP protocol message to emulate a second function that is different from the first function.

15. A system supporting a listener device and one or more notification devices, the system comprising:

a registration module to register the listener device to receive messages from one or more notification devices;

a firewall module for receiving a notification message from one or more notification devices;

a notification server to forward the notification message to the listener device; and

a load balancer module to select the notification server from a plurality of servers.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the load balancer module further operates to select the notification server to load balance the plurality of servers.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the load balancer module further operates to randomly select the notification server.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the notification message is contained within an IP protocol message directed to a first function.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the IP protocol message is intercepted by a processor that emulates the first function.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the processor that emulates the first function modifies the IP protocol message to emulate a second function that is different from the first function.