Real-time search engine

• US 6,366,907 B1
• Filed: 12/15/1999
• Issued: 04/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Moon Glow, Series 82 of Allied Security Trust I (Allied Security Trust)
• Original Assignee: Napster Incorporated (MelodyVR Group Plc)
• Inventors: Kessler, Edward, Fanning, John, Fanning, Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US09/464,653
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/10, 709/215, 709/217
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/38 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/70 of video data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• 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: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Disclosed is described a method for creating a real-time search engine over the Internet which provides a search response containing data object descriptions and server descriptions of data objects that are currently available for transfer from a provider server directly to a recipient client in response to a recipient client search request. The method comprises the provider server connecting to a Real-time search engine through the Internet, the provider server providing the Real-time search engine with data object descriptions of data objects residing on the provider server, and the Real-time search engine indexing data object descriptions associated with the data object of the provider server, wherein the data object descriptions provided by the provider server are purged from the Real-time search engine when the provider server is disconnected from the Real-time search engine.

Claims

1. A method of updating a search-engine index serving a plurality of servers, the method comprising the steps of:

a. establishing a communication link between a search engine and a first server;

b. logging onto the search engine from the first server, wherein the step of logging onto the search engine comprises the steps;

i. uploading a first data object description of a first data object from the first server to a data-object-description table within the search-engine index;

ii. uploading a first server description from the first server to a server-description table within the search-engine index; and

iii. relating the first server description to the first data object description within the search-engine index.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

a. communicating a request from the first server to the search engine for a second data object defined according to a second data object description;

b. downloading the second data object from a second server to the first server; and

c. notifying the search engine that the step of downloading is complete.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

a. removing a targeted data object from a specified file within the first server; and

b. notifying the search engine that the targeted data object has been removed from the specified file within the first server.

4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

a. sending a periodic message between the first server and the search engine; and

b. determining that the first server has disconnected from the search engine if no message from the first server is received by the search engine within a predetermined timeout period.

5. The method according to claim 4 further comprising the step of removing the first server description from the search engine index.

6. The method according to claim 4 further comprising the step of flagging the first server description within the search engine index as inactive.

7. The method according to claim 5 further comprising the step of removing select data object descriptions from the search engine index.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first server description comprises an IP address for accessing the first server over the internet.

9. The method according to claim 8 further comprising the step of selecting a second server from among a set of potential provider servers prior to the step of downloading a new data object from the second server, wherein the step of selecting the second server is based upon a comparison of selection parameters respectively associated with each provider server among the set of potential provider servers.

10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the selection parameters are selected from a group consisting of roundtrip response time between the first server and a potential provider server, internet connection line speed (bandwidth) of a potential provider server, a reliability of a potential provider server, a number of requests already queued to a potential provider server, and a size of a file requested for downloading.

11. The method according to claim 2 further comprising the step of uploading a requested data object from the first server to a third server.

12. The method according to claim 11 in a digital time-multiplexed environment, such that the step of uploading a requested data file from the first server to the third server is performed substantially simultaneously with the step of downloading the second data object description from the second server to the first server.

13. A method of updating a search-engine index serving a plurality of servers, the method comprising the steps of:

a. establishing a communication link between a search engine and a first server;

b. uploading a first server description from the first server to a server-description table within the search-engine index;

c. communicating a request from the first server to the search engine for a data object defined according to a first data object description;

d. downloading the first data object from a second server to the first server; and

e. notifying the search engine that the download is complete.

14. The method according to claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

a. removing a targeted data object from a specified file within the first server; and

b. notifying the search engine that the targeted data object has been removed from the specified file within the first server.

15. The method according to claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

a. sending a periodic message between the first server and the search engine;

b. determining that the first server has disconnected from the search engine if no message from the first server is received by the search engine within a predetermined timeout period.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of removing the first server description from the search engine index.

17. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of flagging the first server description within the search engine index as inactive.

18. The method according to claim 16 further comprising the step of removing select data object descriptions from the search engine index.

19. The method according to claim 13 wherein the first server description comprises an IP address for accessing the first server over the internet.

20. The method according to claim 13 further comprising the step of selecting the second server from among a set of potential provider servers prior to the step of downloading the first data object from the second server, wherein the step of selecting the second server is based upon a comparison of selection parameters respectively associated with each provider server among the set of potential provider servers.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein the selection parameters are selected from a group consisting of roundtrip response time between the first server and a potential provider server, internet connection line speed (bandwidth) of a potential provider server, a reliability of a potential provider server, a number of requests already queued to a potential provider server, and a size of a file requested for downloading.

22. The method according to claim 13 further comprising the step of uploading a requested data object from the first server to a third server.

23. The method according to claim 22 in a digital time-multiplexed environment, such that the step of uploading a requested data file from the first server to the third server is performed substantially simultaneously with the step of downloading the first data object description from the second server to the first server.