Remoting Application Servers

• US 20160050159A1
• Filed: 06/04/2015
• Published: 02/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cook, Charles I., McBride, Kevin M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,225,327 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/542 Intercept
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/549 Remote execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data

Abstract

Novel tools and techniques might provide for implementing remote application access, and, in some cases, by instantiating an application or service close to the intended recipient or user of the application or service, from a networking perspective. A network might provide connectivity between a first computer and a second computer. A file (comprising an application and data) might be transmitted, over the network, from the first computer. A node in the network, which might be on a path between the first and second computers, might determine that the file contains the application and the data, and, based on such determination, might capture the file (before the second computer can receive it). An instance of the application might be instantiated on a compute surface in the network as a service for the second computer, such that the compute surface can operate on the data with the instance of the application.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, with a network, connectivity between a first computer and a second computer;

transmitting, over the network, a file from the first computer toward a second computer, the file comprising an application and data additional to the application;

determining, with a node in the network on a path between the first computer and the second computer, that the file contains the application;

capturing, with the node in the network, the file containing the application and the data, before the second computer can receive the file;

instantiating an instance of the application on a compute surface in the network as a service for the second computer; and

operating on the data with the instance of the application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is a software defined network (“

SDN”

).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the compute surface comprises one or more virtualized network functions (“

VNFs”

), and wherein the application is mapped to the one or more VNFs.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the compute surface is hosted on a virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the virtual machine is hosted in a cloud environment.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the virtual machine is hosted on the second computer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first computer comprises at least one of a server computer, a cloud computing system or cloud environment, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a repository of applications, or a collection of devices operating as a collective device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second computer comprises at least one of a server computer, a cloud computing system or cloud environment, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, or a collection of devices operating as a collective device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second computer is a customer premises gateway that serves as a demarcation between a provider portion of the network and a customer portion of the network, and wherein the compute surface is located in the customer portion of the network.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting one or more compute surface locations in the network to instantiate the instance of the application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving user input;

wherein selecting a location in the network comprises selecting a location based at least in part on the user input.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user input is received from a sender or recipient of the file.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the user input specifies requirements for selecting a location in the network to instantiate the instance of the application.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the requirements are specified in a field of a specified format.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting a location comprises selecting a location in logical proximity to the second computer.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, with the node in the network, second data from at least one of the user,

the first computer, or a separate third computer, the second data being different from the data contained in the file; and

operating on the second data with the instance of the application.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the data additional to the application is audio or video content, and wherein the application is a player for the audio or video content.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the second computer comprises a programmable hardware device, and wherein the application is a management application for the programmable hardware device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the programmable hardware comprises a software defined radio (“

SDR”

) in the network, and wherein the application is a radio management application for managing the SDR.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the radio management application operates the SDR as one or more of an unlicensed spectrum access point on a subscriber network or a licensed spectrum access point on a provider network.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the programmable hardware is capable of machine-to-machine communication, and wherein the application programs the programmable hardware to perform machine-to-machine communication.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is a user application to be demonstrated by a user of the first computer for a user of the second computer, and wherein the second computer lacks sufficient resources to execute the application.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is a computing-based application.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the computing-based application is an anti-malware application.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the file comprises transmitting, over the network, a file from the first computer toward a second computer in response to an external event trigger.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the file contains the application comprises detecting an identifier associated with the file.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the file is transmitted in one or more packets over the network, and wherein the identifier comprises a tag applied to at least one of the one or more packets.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the file is transmitted in one or more packets over the network, and wherein the identifier comprises a wrapper around at least some of the one or more packets.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the wrapper includes instructions for executing the application.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the identifier is a signature applied to the file or to one or more packets by which the file is transmitted over the network.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the node in the network, instantiation instructions from a third computer;

wherein instantiating an instance of the application comprises instantiating an instance in accordance with the instantiation instructions.

32. An apparatus at a node in a network that provides connectivity between a first computer and a second computer, the apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by one or more computers to cause the apparatus to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising;

instructions for receiving a file in transit from the first computer toward the second computer, the file comprising an application and data additional to the application;

instructions for determining that the file contains the application;

instructions for capturing the file containing the application and the data, before the second computer can receive the file; and

instructions for instantiating an instance of the application on a compute surface in the network as a service for the second computer, such that the compute surface can operate on the data with the instance of the application.

33. A computer system, comprising:

a network that provides connectivity between a first computer and a second computer; and

a node in the network, on a path between the first computer and the second computer, the node comprising;

one or more processors; and

a computer readable medium in communication with the one or more processors, the computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the node to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising;

instructions for receiving a file in transit from the first computer toward the second computer, the file comprising an application and data additional to the application;

instructions for determining that the file contains the application;

instructions for capturing the file containing the application and the data, before the second computer can receive the file; and

instructions for instantiating an instance of the application on a compute surface in the network as a service for the second computer, such that the compute surface can operate on the data with the instance of the application.