Method and apparatus for alert distribution and archive sharing

• US 7,467,190 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2003
• Issued: 12/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Matsubara, Daisuke, Miki, Kazuho
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim; Krisna
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chea; Philip J
• Application Number:
  US10/680,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20050076098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,898 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/206, 709/217, 709/223, 709/226, 709/238
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1048 Departure or maintenance mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1093 Some peer nodes performing special functions

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments of the present invention include a peer-to-peer network comprising management server and a notification server. Information of interest can be subscribed to by peer clients. The notification server can then notify subscribing peer clients of modified information. A pure peer-to-peer architecture is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for accessing information in a peer to peer network, the method comprising:

storing information among a plurality of peer client systems, wherein the information can be accessed by the peer client systems, the information collectively referred to as information sources;

storing, in a first server system, location information indicative of a location of each information source, wherein the peer client systems are configured to communicate with the first server system to access the location information;

generating, in the first server system, one or more subscriptions, wherein each subscription is associated with an information source and with one or more peer client systems, thereby indicating that the one or more peer clients systems is to be notified of any changes to the information source, and wherein the peer client systems are configured to communicate with the first server system to subscribe to one or more information sources;

detecting, in the first server system, a modification to an information source, the step of detecting comprising receiving, from a first peer client system, an indication that a first information source has been modified, and if the first server system determines that there is a first subscription that is associated with the first information source, communicating to the first peer client system a list of second peer client systems that are associated with the first subscription,

wherein the first peer client system communicates an alert message to each second peer client system using peer to peer (P2P) communication, the alert message including information indicating that the first information source has been modified,

wherein each second peer client system can access an information source that is associated with the alert message, a copy of the information source being stored in another peer client system, and

wherein each second peer client system can access the copy from the other peer client system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the second peer client systems automatically accesses the information source that is associated with the alert message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first information source is modified by the first client system.

4. A system for sharing information in a peer to peer network comprising:

a plurality of peer clients, each peer client in communication with other peer clients, wherein each peer client stores information, collectively referred to as information sources, wherein the information sources can be shared among the peer clients; and

a management server having information indicative of locations of the information sources, the management server configured to communicate with a peer client to provide location information to an information source so that the peer client can access the information source;

the management server further configured to receive requests from peer clients for subscriptions to one or more information sources, each such information source referred to as a subscribed information source, and to associate each subscribed information source with one or more peer clients, thereby indicating that the one or more peer clients is to be notified of any changes to the subscribed information source,

the management server further configured to receive information from a first peer client indicative modifications made to one or more of the information sources, each such information source referred to as a modified information source,

the management server further configured to identify one or more second peer clients based on a comparison of the modified information source against the subscribed information sources, and to communicate a list that identifies the second peer clients to the first peer client,

wherein the first peer client can communicate an alert message to each of the second peer clients using peer to peer (P2P) communication, the alert message including information indicating that the one or more information sources have been modified, and

wherein each second peer client, in response to receiving an alert message, can access a first information source associated with the alert message.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein one of the second peer clients automatically accesses at least a first information source associated with the alert message.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein one of the second peer clients generates a display to inform a user of receipt of the alert message, wherein the user can decide whether to access an information source associated with the alert message.

7. A method for accessing information in a peer to peer network, the method comprising:

storing information among a plurality of peer client systems, wherein the information can be accessed by the peer client systems, the information collectively referred to as information sources;

storing, in each peer client system, location information indicative of locations of one or more information sources, wherein the peer client systems can access the location information in order to determine the locations of the one or more information sources;

generating, in each peer client system, one or more subscriptions, each subscription being associated with an information source and with one or more peer client systems, thereby indicating that the one or more peer clients systems is to be notified of any changes to the information source, the step of generating comprising receiving a subscription request from a first peer client system and associating one or more information sources with the first peer client system, the one or more information sources identified in the subscription request; and

detecting, in each peer client system, a modification to an information source, the step of detecting comprising receiving an indication that a first information source has been modified and, if there is a subscription associated with the first information source, communicating an alert message to each peer client system that is associated with the first subscription from another peer client system using peer to peer (P2P) communication, the alert message including information indicating that the first information source has been modified,

wherein each peer client system that receives the alert message can access an information source that is associated with the alert message, a copy of the information source being stored in another peer client system, and

wherein each peer client system that receives an alert message can access the copy from the other peer client system.