System for communicating information about nodes configuration by generating advertisements having era values for identifying time reference for which the configuration is operative

• US 5,913,921 A
• Filed: 02/05/1997
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Glenayre Electronics Incorporated (EDCI Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Glenayre Electronics Incorporated (EDCI Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Godoroja, Andrei, Belton, James H., Tosey, Joseph P. R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US08/795,063
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.5, 395/182.01, 395/182.11, 395/200.51, 395/200.52, 395/200.53, 395/200.54, 395/200.72, 340/825.44, 709/220
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/263 Rate modification at the source after receiving feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/28 in relation to timing considerations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/37 Slow start
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/61 : Time-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 : Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 : Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 : Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 : using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 : using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 : Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 : Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 : Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 : Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/06 : Transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP [Transport Control Protocol] over wireless transmission control protocol/Internet protocol [TCP/IP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/022 : One-way selective calling networks, e.g. wide area paging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/027 : providing paging services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/16 : Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 : between backbone network devices

Abstract

An improved computer network and methods for determining current configurations of abstract nodes is accomplished by using era values in the configurations of the abstract nodes. Abstract nodes which represent network components within the network have access to databases containing recorded node configurations. Associations between nodes are established when a node configuration is advertised and recorded in another node'"'"'s database. Database information on node configurations is kept current by comparing the era value of each advertised node against the era value of the same node as recorded in the database. Since era values indicate a relative time reference for which the node configuration is operative, a more current era value indicates a more current node configuration. Abstract nodes are completely independent entities. As a result, a node'"'"'s configuration may be independently modified by more than one component in the network. Application of the network in a hot-standby system is also disclosed.

Claims

1. In a computer network including a plurality of communicatively interconnected components and a plurality of abstract nodes, a method for a single component of the plurality of components to communicate information about an abstract node'"'"'s configuration to at least one other component, the method comprising:

(a) defining the configuration of the abstract node to include an era value for identifying a time reference for which the configuration is operative, the configuration being modifiable by more than one component in the computer network,

(b) generating an advertisement disclosing information on the configuration of the abstract node, the advertisement including the era value of the configuration;

(c) communicating the advertisement to the at least one other component; and

(d) if the at least one other component has previously received configuration information of the abstract node, then comparing the era value included in the advertisement with the era value included in the previously received configuration information to determine whether the configuration information disclosed in the advertisement is more current.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparison of era values is accomplished by using two'"'"'s complement arithmetic to subtract the era value included in the previously received configuration information from the era value included in the advertisement.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the era values are signed, 8-bit numbers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the comparison indicates that information in the advertisement is more current if the subtraction results in a positive number.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a database accessible to the at least one other component for storing information from the advertisement if the information in the advertisement is determined to be more current than any previously received configuration information of the abstract node.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the components of the computer network are switches in a wireless messaging or paging system and the computer network is an interswitch network in the wireless messaging or paging system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein configuration information recorded in the database further includes status information for identifying the status of the recorded configuration information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the status information functions as a warning flag.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the status information indicates that the associated configuration information may be ignored.

10. An improved computer network comprising a plurality of communicatively interconnected components and a plurality of abstract nodes, wherein the plurality of abstract nodes operates to represent the interconnected components in the network, the configuration of each abstract node defined to include an era value for identifying a time reference for which the configuration of the abstract node is operative, the configuration of an abstract node being modifiable by more than one component in the network, wherein advertisements disclosing information on the configuration of one or more abstract nodes are generated and communicated through the network to the components, the components receiving the advertisement having means to determine whether an advertised node configuration is more current than previously received configuration information of the same node and to store advertised node configuration information in a database for maintaining information on the configuration of abstract nodes.

11. The computer network of claim 10, wherein communication between the components is enabled according to node configurations determined to be more current.

12. The computer network of claim 11, wherein the components of the computer network are switches in a wireless messaging or paging system and the computer network is an interswitch network in the wireless messaging or paging system.

13. The computer network of claim 10, wherein a component capable of storing node configurations in a database has the further capacity to communicate the contents of the database to another component.

14. The computer network of claim 10, wherein the network further comprises a network resource for coordinating node era values.

15. In a computer network having a plurality of communicatively interconnected devices, a method for switching control of a resource from a first device to a second device, each device having a network address in the computer network, wherein the first device, configured to control the resource, is represented in the computer network by an abstract node defined by elements including an era value for identifying a time reference for which configuration of the abstract node is operative, and wherein the second device has also been configured to control the resource but control of the resource by the second device is not active, the method comprising the second device

(a) changing the configuration of the abstract node making the abstract node addressable at the network address of the second device;

(b) modifying the era value of the abstract node to a new era value indicative of a new time reference of operation;

(c) generating an advertisement having

(i) the configuration information of the abstract node which indicates that the abstract node is addressable at the network address of the second device, and

(ii) the new era value that, when compared with an era value included in previous configuration information of the abstract node, distinguishes a more current time reference in which the configuration is operative; and

(c) communicating the advertisement to at least one other device in the network.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of devices are switches in a wireless messaging or paging system and the computer network is an interswitch network in the wireless messaging or paging system.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the comparison of era values is accomplished by using two'"'"'s complement arithmetic to subtract the era value included in previous configuration information of the abstract node from the new era value.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the era values are signed, 8-bit numbers.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the comparison indicates that information in the advertisement is more current if the subtraction results in a positive number.

20. A method for a switch in a wireless messaging or paging interswitch network to detect communicated configuration information that is more current, the network including a plurality of communicatively interconnected switches and a plurality of abstract nodes, the configuration of each abstract node defined to include an era value for identifying a time reference for which the configuration is operative, the configuration being modifiable by more than one switch in the interswitch network, the method comprising:

(a) receiving an advertisement communicated from another switch, the advertisement disclosing information on the configuration of an abstract node including the node'"'"'s era value;

(b) determining whether configuration information on the node has been previously received;

(c) if configuration information on the node has been previously received, comparing the era value included in the advertisement with the era value included in the previously received configuration information to determine whether the configuration information disclosed in the advertisement is more current; and

(d) recording the advertised configuration information in a database maintained by the switch if the configuration information is determined to be more current or if configuration information on the node has not been previously received.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the comparison of era values is accomplished by using two'"'"'s complement subtraction.