Method and apparatus for managing resource schedules in a peer to peer distributed networking environment

• US 6,647,448 B1
• Filed: 06/29/2000
• Issued: 11/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Brelin, Jon Ebbe
• Primary Examiner(s): Ray, Gopal C.
• Application Number:
  US09/606,552
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 710/107, 710/48, 710/72, 710/260, 710/240, 710/112, 710/105, 709/100, 709/102, 709/104, 709/107, 709/229, 709/223, 701/1, 345/716, 345/966, 386/39, 463/1, 455/557, 455/67.1, 379/201.01, 370/254, 370/29, 725/87, 725/101
• US Class Current: 710/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

The invention is an architecture, a system and a method for generating and storing resource schedule entries to an AV/C resource schedule bulletin board subunit. The AV/C resource schedule bulletin board accepts and stores schedule entries posted as requests from a plurality of devices networked through an IEEE 1394 serial bus. The AV/C bulletin board provides each posted schedule entry with a status data field and a progress data field. The status data fields and progress data fields are updated periodically by the system with status values and progress values to reflect the current status and progress of the request. The status values and progress values are used to manage the resource schedule bulletin, resolve schedule conflicts, negotiate resource time between competing control devices and to provide a detailed history of each schedule entry posted to the AV/C bulleting board.

Claims

1. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and leach posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, wherein the schedule entries further comprise a progress data field that is updated with a progress value to post the progress towards completion of the resource request.

4. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the progress data field is updated at a predetermined time interval during execution of a posted schedule entry.

5. The architecture of claim 4, wherein the progress data field is updated by the requesting device.

6. The architecture of claim 5, wherein the status data field is updated when the requesting posting device fails to update the progress data field within the predetermined time interval.

2. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically, updated wherein the status data field is updated by the posting device.

3. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, wherein the status value is posted when a schedule entry is waiting to start, actively being used, completed normally, completed abnormally and overridden by another posting device.

7. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, wherein the resource requests further comprise a keep history data field in which the scheduled requesting posting device saves posted status values and progress values to provide an execution history of the schedule resource entry.

8. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, wherein the resource schedule is an AV/C resource schedule bulletin board.

9. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, wherein the network comprises an IEEE 1394-1995 serial bus.

10. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, further comprising a subunit entry list for the resource device, wherein the subunit entry list posts:

a) a resource subunit identification for each device resource;

b) a posting device identification for each of the posting devices that have posted a resource schedule entry; and

c) a status data field to indicate usage status for each posting device that has posted a resource schedule entry.

11. An architecture for scheduling a device resource over a network from a plurality of posting devices, the architecture comprising a resource schedule capable of receiving resource requests and storing posted schedule entries from the plurality of posting devices, wherein each of the resource requests comprise a time data field with a start time, a duration time, an interval time and each posted schedule entry identifies a requesting posting device, a requested resource and comprises a status data field including a status value that is periodically updated, further comprising a subunit status field that posts the status values corresponding to the device resource.

12. The architecture of claim 11, wherein the subunit status field posts status values when the device resource is ready to be used, actively being used, is running overtime and has been relinquished by a competing schedule entry.

13. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request;

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry; and

e. updating the status field and storing the status data each time the status field is updated.

14. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request;

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry;

e. checking the resource device for availability; and

f. notifying the posting device of the resource status prior to the step of generating the schedule entry.

15. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request;

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry; and

e. monitoring the progress of the resource request during its scheduled time.

16. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request; and

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry;

wherein monitoring the activity of the resource request is accomplished by monitoring the activity of the posting device.

17. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request;

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry; and

e. generating a subunit status data field that codes the resource schedule entry for the status of the resource.

18. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request; and

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry;

wherein the resource schedule is an AV/C resource schedule bulletin board.

19. A method of updating a resource schedule over a network of devices comprising:

a. submitting a resource request from a posting device to the resource schedule wherein the resource request has a start time, a duration time, and an interval time;

b. generating a resource schedule entry that identifies a resource that is scheduled and the posting device submitting the request and comprises a status data field including a status value;

c. monitoring the activity of the resource request; and

d. providing the status value within the status data field to represent status of the resource schedule entry;

wherein the network comprises an IEEE 1394-1995 serial bus.

20. A system for scheduling a resource over a network, the system comprising:

a) a resource device that executes resource schedule entries posted at an AV/C resource schedule bulletin board that comprises data fields for posting a status of each of the schedule entries; and

b) a posting device in communication with the resource device and capable of posting the resource schedule entries to the AV/C bulletin board wherein each of the resource schedule entries include a start time, a duration time, and an interval time.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the AV/C resource bulletin board further comprises progress data fields for posting the progress of schedule entries during their execution by the resource.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the resource device further comprises a data storage unit for storing the posted status values and progress values for the resource schedule entries.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the progress data field is updated with progress data by the posting device at a predetermined time interval while the resource is executing the schedule entries.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the status data field is updated by the resource device.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the resource device comprises a video receiver and transmitter.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the posting device and the resource device are couple together by an IEEE 1394 serial bus.