Method and system for message transfer session management

• US 6,477,590 B1
• Filed: 11/07/2000
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Arnon, Yoel, Habusha, Uri
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELAMIN, ABDELMONIEM I
• Application Number:
  US09/707,688
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 710/29, 379/229, 709/221, 340/825.5
• US Class Current: 710/29
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/26 using explicit feedback to the source, e.g. choke packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/267 sent by the destination endpoint network streaming of media packets with control of the source by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/27 Evaluation or update of window size, e.g. using information derived from acknowledged [ACK] packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/35 by embedding flow control information in regular packets, e.g. piggybacking

Abstract

A method and system for managing the transfer of message packets between first and second nodes in a message queuing system utilizes a session acknowledgment protocol to coordinate the two-way flow of packet transmission. In a session initiation phase, each node specifies a session acknowledgment timeout period and a transmission window size for transmission of message packets thereto. During the session, the first node transmits multiple message packets up to the window size set by the second node and stops to wait for a session acknowledgment from the second computer. The session acknowledgment may piggyback on a message packet sent to the first node. A window-size field in the session acknowledgment allows the receiving node to dynamically adjust the incoming data flow.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure comprising:

a first data field containing data representing an acknowledgment sequence number identifying a last successfully received persistent packet by a receiving node from a sending node;

a second data field containing data presenting a storage state of persistent packets received by the receiving node;

a third data field containing data representing a number of packets received by the receiving node in the packet transmission;

a fourth data field containing data representing a number of persistent packets received by the receiving node in the packet transmission;

a fifth data field containing data representing a new window size for transmission of message packets to the receiving node.

2. A computer-readable medium as in claim 1, wherein the data in the second data field includes a base sequence number corresponding to a persistent packet stored by the receiving node and a plurality of persisted status flags for corresponding persistent packets having sequence numbers greater than the base sequence number, each persisted status flag indicating whether the corresponding persistent packet has been stored or forwarded by the receiving node to a third node.

3. A computer-readable medium as in claim 2, wherein the persisted status flags are in a form of bits each corresponding to a persistent packet having a sequence number greater than the base sequence number.

4. A computer-readable medium as in claim 2, wherein the data structure further includes a header field containing data representing a message header.

5. A computer-readable medium as in claim 4, wherein the data structure further includes a message data field containing message data of a message transmitted from the receiver node to the sending node.

6. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure comprising:

a first data field containing data representing an acknowledgment timeout period for a receiving node to send an acknowledgment of receipt of message packets transmitted thereto from a sending node during a message transfer session between the sending and receiving nodes;

a second data field containing data representing a persistent storage acknowledgment timeout period for the receiving node to send an acknowledgment of storage of persistent messages received by the receiving node from the sending node;

a third data field containing data representing a window size field for specifying a maximum number of message packets the receiving node is allowed to transmit to the sending node at one time.

7. A computer-readable medium as in claim 6, wherein the data structure further includes a header field containing data representing a message header.

8. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for a sending node and a receiving node in a message queuing system to perform steps to manage a message transfer session between the sending and receiving nodes, the steps comprising:

sending, by the sending node, a session management packet to the receiving node, the session management packet having a data structure including a first data field containing data representing an acknowledgment timeout period for the receiving node to send an acknowledgment of receipt of message packets from the sending node during the message transfer session, a second data field containing data representing a persistent storage acknowledgment timeout period for the receiving node to send an acknowledgment of storage of persistent messages received from the sending node, and a third data field containing data representing a window size field for specifying a maximum number of message packets the receiving node is allowed to transmit to the sending node at one time;

transmitting, by the sending node, message packets to the receiving nodes, the message packets including persistent message packets; and

sending, by the receiving node, a session acknowledgment packet to the sending node, the session acknowledgment packet having a data structure including a first data field containing data representing an acknowledgment sequence number identifying a last successfully received persistent packet by the receiving node from the sending node, a second data field containing data presenting a storage state of persistent packets received from the sending node, a third data field containing data representing a number of packets received by the receiving node in the packet transmission, a fourth data field containing data representing a number of persistent packets received by the receiving node in the packet transmission, and a fifth data field containing data representing a new window size for transmission of message packets to the receiving node.

9. A computer-readable medium as in claim 8, where the step of transmitting includes transmitting message packets up to a sending window size specified by the receiving node and waiting for the session acknowledgment message from the receiving node for the message packets transmitted.

10. A computer-readable medium as in claim 9, having further computer-executable instructions for the sending node to perform the step of closing the message transfer session when the number of packets and the number of persistent packets received by the receiving node as indicated in the session acknowledgment packet are inconsistent with a number of packets and a number of persistent packets sent by the sending node to the receiving node in the transmitting step.

11. A computer-readable medium as in claim 8, wherein the second data field of the session acknowledgment packet includes a base sequence number corresponding to a persistent packet stored by the receiving node and a plurality of persisted status flags for corresponding persistent packets having sequence numbers greater than the base sequence number, each persisted status flag indicating whether the corresponding persistent packet has been stored or forwarded by the receiving node to a next node of the message queuing system.

12. A computer-readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the persisted status flags are in a form of bits each corresponding to a persistent packet having a sequence number greater than the base sequence number.

13. A computer-readable medium as in claim 8, wherein the session acknowledgment packet further includes a message data field containing message data of a message transmitted by the receiving node to the sending node.