Distributed means of organizing an arbitrarily large number of computers

• US 7,424,524 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2002
• Issued: 09/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Viametrix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Viametrix Incorporated
• Inventors: Fish, III, Russell H.
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, KHANH Q
• Application Number:
  US10/178,075
• Publication Number:
  US 20030009512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,272 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/224, 709/227, 709/228, 370/408, 370/238, 714/6
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/505 Clust
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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 69/164 Adaptation or special uses of UDP protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A technique for organizing a plurality of computers such that message broadcast, content searching, and computer identification of the entire collection or a subset of the entire collection may be performed quickly without the use of a controlling computer. The technique describes the creation, operation, and maintenance of a connection scheme by which each computer in the collection appears to be the top level of a hierarchical array. The maintenance of this hierarchical connection scheme allows one to many communications throughout the collection of computers to scale geometrically rather than linearly.

Claims

1. A method for logically configuring a set of computers into a network of computers, the set of computers being comprised of a first set of high bandwidth computers comprising:

selecting a first high bandwidth computer of the set of high bandwidth computers to serve as a logical center of the network of computers;

identifying a second set of high bandwidth computers and a set of low bandwidth computers to be added to the network of computers computer based on a bandwidth connection capacity;

adding the second set of high bandwidth computers to the network of computers;

each computer of the second set of high bandwidth computers logically configuring the network of computers into a plurality of concentric polygons, wherein each added computer of the second set of high bandwidth computers operates to;

find a second high bandwidth computer in of the first set of high bandwidth collection of computers;

follow one of a radial and an indirect radial that includes the second high bandwidth computer to a collection edge, said the radial comprising a series set of logically adjacent radial high bandwidth computers of the first set of high bandwidth computers that logically extends from the logical center, and the indirect radial comprising a series set of logically adjacent indirect radial high bandwidth computers of the first set of high bandwidth computers that logically extends from one of the set of logically adjacent radial high bandwidth computers, wherein the collection edge comprises a logically outermost high bandwidth computer of the first set of high bandwidth computers on said one of the radial and the indirect radial; and

logically attach to the collection edge; and

adding the set of low bandwidth computers to the network of computers;

to and logically configuring the set of low bandwidth computers into a plurality of serial strings, each serial string logically attached to a first corresponding one of said the high bandwidth computers in the group of the first set of high bandwidth computers and the second set of high bandwidth computers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adding the set of low bandwidth computers comprises attaching each low bandwidth computer to a particular one of said serial strings in a position closest to the corresponding one of the high bandwidth computers, wherein each low bandwidth computer previously attached to said the serial string is pushed down one level in said serial string.

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

comparing a number of low bandwidth computers in a first one of the serial strings to a number of low bandwidth computers in a second one of the serial strings, said second serial string attached to a second corresponding high bandwidth computer that is logically adjacent to a the first corresponding high bandwidth; and

moving a low bandwidth computer from said first serial string to said second serial string, based on said comparison, as necessary to maintain a balanced distribution.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a first computer to be added to the network of computers as being connected to a local area network (LAN);

determining if said LAN includes a second computer that comprises a computer in said the network of computers;

attaching said first LAN-connected computer to said second computer via a LAN multicast if said LAN is determined to include a computer in said—

the network of computers; and

performing said the step of identifying the first LAN-connected computer as being one of a high bandwidth computer and a low bandwidth computer if said LAN is determined to not include a computer in said network of computers.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a representation of the logical configuration of said the set of high bandwidth computers.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving an operator selection of a high bandwidth computer from said displayed representation; and

displaying information relating to the selected high bandwidth computer, said information selected from the group consisting of broadcast parameters, properties, neighbor identifiers, and identifiers of low bandwidth computers forming a serial string that is logically attached to the selected high bandwidth computer.

7. A method for logically configuring a collection of computers, comprising:

selecting a computer to serve as a logical center of the collection of computers;

arranging computers from the collection of computers such that the collection of computers are logically configured to form a plurality of successively higher concentric polygon levels around the logical center;

adding a computer to the collection of computers;

determining that the added computer is physically connected to a local area network (LAN);

determining whether the LAN includes a previously added computer of the collection of computers;

if the LAN does not include a previously added computer, logically connecting the added computer to a computer in the collection of computers, located at a collection edge, wherein the collection edge comprises a logical outer edge of the collection of computers and forms at least a partial concentric polygon level around the plurality of concentric polygon levels;

if the LAN does include a previously added computer, logically connecting said added computer to receive a LAN multicast from said previously added computer; and

sending a message from a top computer of the collection of computers to each of a plurality of neighboring radial computers, each neighboring radial computer forwarding the message to another neighboring radial computer and to a neighboring indirect radial computer, such that the message is forwarded to each computer in the collection of computers only once.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising, when the LAN does not include a previously added computer, repeating the steps of:

changing a logical location of the added computer to a next lower concentric polygon level if a computer in the collection of computers is not situated at a logical position that neighbors the added computer at the next lower concentric polygon level; and

changing a logical location of the added computer to a logically adjacent position on a current concentric polygon level of the added computer if a computer in the collection of computers is not situated at said logically adjacent position.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising, prior to the step of logically connecting the added computer to a computer located at a collection edge, locating the collection edge by:

identifying a previously connected computer in said collection of computers, and following one of a radial and an indirect radial to the collection edge, said radial comprising a series of logically adjacent radial computers that logically extend from the logical center, and said indirect radial comprising a series of logically adjacent indirect radial computers that logically extend from one of the radial computers, wherein the collection edge comprises a logically outermost computer on said one of the radial and the indirect radial.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising, subsequent to said step of logically connecting the added computer to the computer located at the collection edge:

receiving a request via the LAN for a LAN-connected computer of said collection of computers; and

responding to said request with information for connecting to a LAN multicast transmitted by said added computer.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising displaying a representation of the logical configuration of said collection of computers.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving an operator selection of a computer connected to said LAN from said displayed representation; and

displaying information relating to the selected computer connected to said LAN, said information selected from the group consisting of broadcast parameters, properties, neighbor identifiers, and identifiers of computers of said collection of computers connected to said LAN.