PUBLISH-SUBSCRIBE MESSAGING IN A CONTENT NETWORK

• US 20150207857A1
• Filed: 01/21/2014
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Horton, Gary
• Granted Patent: US 9,654,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

A plurality of subscribers are registered to receive, from a publisher component, at client devices, via a broker component, at least one of messages and content pertaining to a first topic. Each of the subscribers is caused to generate one of N random numbers. A different one of the N random numbers is generated by each of the subscribers. Each of the subscribers is instructed to listen only for the messages and content pertaining to the first topic and corresponding to the corresponding one of the N random numbers. The at least one of messages and content pertaining to the first topic are published to those of the subscribers associated with each one of the N random numbers, number by number, until the at least one of messages and content pertaining to the first topic has been published to all of the plurality of subscribers.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

registering a plurality of subscribers to receive, from a publisher component, at client devices, via a broker component, at least one of messages and content pertaining to a first topic;

causing each of said subscribers to generate one of N random numbers, a different one of N random numbers being generated by each of said subscribers;

instructing each of said subscribers to listen only for said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic and corresponding to said one of N random numbers generated by each corresponding one of said subscribers; and

publishing said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic to those of said subscribers associated with each one of said N random numbers, number by number, until said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic has been published to all of said plurality of subscribers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in said step of causing each of said subscribers to generate said one of N random numbers, a value of N in said N random numbers is generated based on available capacity of at least one of said publisher component and a network interconnecting said publisher component with said subscribers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said value of N is determined from an overall customer population divided by a preferred increment size.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said at least one of messages and content comprises content.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said content comprises a uniform resource locator identifying a cloud-based user interface.

6. A method comprising the steps of:

publishing, from a publisher component, to a plurality of subscribers at client devices, via a broker component, at least one of messages and content including a uniform resource locator pointing to a rules engine;

obtaining, at said rules engine, from each of said client devices, a unique identifier of each of said client devices; and

using said rules engine and said unique identifiers obtained from said client devices, determining particular messages and/or content to be delivered to each of said client devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

in said publishing step, said at least one of messages and content pertain to subscribers to a topic; and

in said using step, said rules engine uses said unique identifiers to specify that said particular messages and/or content to be delivered to each of said client devices vary for at least some of said client devices.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said using step comprises said rules engine providing at least some of said client devices with a confirmation of current messages and content.

9. A method comprising the steps of:

listening, at an interceptor component, for at least one of messages and content pertaining to a first topic published from a publisher component to a plurality of subscribers at client devices, via a broker component, said least one of messages and content including a uniform resource locator of said publisher component;

intercepting said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic with said interceptor component; and

re-publishing, with said interceptor component, to a second topic different than said first topic, identifying information for a destination subscriber for each of said intercepted at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic, back to said broker component for transmission to said publisher component, to inform said publisher component of said plurality of subscribers to whom said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic was sent.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising obtaining, at said publisher component, acknowledgements from those of said client devices which have received said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic, via said uniform resource locator of said publisher component.

11. A publisher apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor, coupled to said memory and operative to;

register a plurality of subscribers to receive, from said publisher apparatus, at client devices, via a broker component, at least one of messages and content pertaining to a first topic;

cause each of said subscribers to generate one of N random numbers, a different one of N random numbers being generated by each of said subscribers;

instruct each of said subscribers to listen only for said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic and corresponding to said one of N random numbers generated by each corresponding one of said subscribers; and

publish said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic to those of said subscribers associated with each one of said N random numbers, number by number, until said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic has been published to all of said plurality of subscribers.

12. The publisher apparatus of claim 11, wherein a value of N in said N random numbers is generated by said at least one processor based on available capacity of at least one of said publisher component and a network interconnecting said publisher apparatus with said subscribers.

13. The publisher apparatus of claim 12, wherein said value of N is determined from an overall customer population divided by a preferred increment size.

14. The publisher apparatus of claim 12, wherein said at least one of messages and content comprises content.

15. The publisher apparatus of claim 14, wherein said content comprises a uniform resource locator identifying a cloud-based user interface.

16. An article of manufacture comprising a tangible non-transitory machine readable recordable storage medium with instructions recorded thereon which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to be operative to:

register a plurality of subscribers to receive, from said publisher apparatus, at client devices, via a broker component, at least one of messages and content pertaining to a first topic;

cause each of said subscribers to generate one of N random numbers, a different one of N random numbers being generated by each of said subscribers;

instruct each of said subscribers to listen only for said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic and corresponding to said one of N random numbers generated by each corresponding one of said subscribers; and

publish said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic to those of said subscribers associated with each one of said N random numbers, number by number, until said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic has been published to all of said plurality of subscribers.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein a value of N in said N random numbers is generated based on available capacity of at least one of said publisher component and a network interconnecting said publisher apparatus with said subscribers.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein said value of N is determined from an overall customer population divided by a preferred increment size.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein said at least one of messages and content comprises content.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein said content comprises a uniform resource locator identifying a cloud-based user interface.

21. An apparatus comprising:

means for registering a plurality of subscribers to receive, from a publisher component, at client devices, via a broker component, at least one of messages and content pertaining to a first topic;

means for causing each of said subscribers to generate one of N random numbers, a different one of N random numbers being generated by each of said subscribers;

means for instructing each of said subscribers to listen only for said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic and corresponding to said one of N random numbers generated by each corresponding one of said subscribers; and

means for publishing said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic to those of said subscribers associated with each one of said N random numbers, number by number, until said at least one of messages and content pertaining to said first topic has been published to all of said plurality of subscribers.