System and method for host list pruning

• US 6,625,652 B1
• Filed: 03/23/1999
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Fantastic Co. AG
• Inventors: White, Marc, Miller, C. Kenneth, McKenna, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): CALDWELL, ANDREW T
• Application Number:
  US09/274,574
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• Field of Search: 370/261, 370/390, 713/163, 709/204-205, 709/219, 709/227-228
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1614 using bitmaps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1809 Selective-repeat protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/115 using a dedicated packet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/1446 of transmission speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• 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 4/08 : User group management

Abstract

To make registration and confirmation of groups and confirmation of data transmission more scaleable, particularly for large groups, the size of a host list pruned in subsequent transmission. This host list management can be achieved by (a) creating a message that includes a list of one or more receivers;(b) sending the message over a network; (c) receiving over the network one or more replies from one or more of the receivers; (d) identifying each receiver for which one of the replies was received and establishing another message that includes the list with the identified receivers; (e) sending the message established in step (d) over the network; (f) creating a modified list by removing the identified receivers from the list; and (g) if there are one or more receivers on the modified list, repeating steps (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) using the modified list as the list.

Claims

1. A method of managing a list of receivers, comprising:

(a) creating a message that includes a list of one or more receivers;

(b) sending the message over a network;

(c) receiving over the network one or more replies from one or more of the receivers;

(d) identifying each receiver for which one of the replies was received and establishing another message that includes the list with the identified receivers;

(e) sending the message established in step (d) over the network;

(f) creating a modified list by removing the identified receivers from the list; and

(g) if there are one or more receivers on the modified list, repeating steps (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) using the modified list as the list.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, in steps (b) and (e), the message is sent to a group address location accessible to the receivers.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(h) establishing a confirmed list that includes all of the identified receivers; and

(i) transferring data over the network to the identified receivers on the confirmed list.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein all of the steps are performed by a sending computer on the network.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the sending computer comprises a server 10.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step (c), the replies are received in response to the most recently sent message.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein, in step (e), the message is sent a predetermined amount of time after the most recently sent message.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein step (g) is repeated for a predetermined amount of time.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein step (g) is repeated until a predetermined number of the messages have been sent.

10. The method of claim 3 wherein the message sent in step (b) comprises an invitation to the receivers on the list to confirm an interest in receiving the data over the network.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the messages sent in steps (b) and (e) are multicast messages.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the lists include Internet protocol (IP) addresses for the receivers.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the lists include global identifiers for the receivers.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein each of the global identifiers has a Class E IP address format.

15. A method of managing a list of receivers to establish a group list, comprising:

(a) receiving over a network one or more replies from one or more receivers;

(b) identifying each receiver for which one of the replies was received in step (a);

(c) adding the receivers identified in step (b) to a group list;

(d) sending a message over the network, the message including a list of only the identified receivers added to the group list in step (c); and

(e) repeating steps (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) until a predetermined condition exists.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the predetermined condition comprises the end of a predetermined period of time.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the predetermined condition comprises a predetermined number of identified receivers on the group list.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the predetermined condition comprises a predetermined number of times that the message is sent in step (d).

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the predetermined condition comprises a predetermined error condition.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising transferring data over the network to the identified receivers on the group list.