Apparatus and method for managing mobile agents

• US 7,499,990 B1
• Filed: 11/16/2000
• Issued: 03/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nakamura, Yuhichi, Yamamoto, Gaku, Tai, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone; Jason D
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOSSAIN, TANIM M
• Application Number:
  US09/713,929
• Time in Patent Office: 3,029 Days
• Field of Search: 706/45, 709/223, 710/19, 455/456.5
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/048 mobile agents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A system and method thereby each of a plurality of agent servers keeps and manages history of movement. Each of the agent servers temporarily stores requests for updates of location information of a mobile agent associated to accumulated number of movement of the mobile agent and periodically sends it to a registration server so that no congestion will occur in accessing the registration server. The registration server renews location information of a mobile server only with the request for update of a higher accumulated number of movements so as not to overwrite newer information with older information.

Claims

1. A mobile agent management apparatus comprising:

a plurality of agent servers; and

a registration server for maintaining location information of mobile agents,

wherein each of said plurality of agent servers comprises;

means for maintaining a history of movement of each of said mobile agents including a counter for accumulating a count of the accumulated number of movements for each of said mobile agents; and

request means for periodically generating requests for updating location information of each of said agents, said requests including at least a mobile agent identifier and said accumulated number of movements for said mobile agent, to renew location information at said registration server; and

wherein said registration server comprises at least one register for maintaining accumulated number of movements and locations of each of said mobile agents in an associated manner and renews said location information of each of said mobile agents only upon receipt of requests for updating location information associated with a higher accumulated number of movements.

2. A method for managing locations of mobile agents by using a plurality of agent servers and a registration server for maintaining locations of mobile agents comprising the steps of:

at each of said agent servers;

maintaining a history of movement of each of said mobile agents including accumulating a count of the number of movements for each of said mobile agents; and

periodically generating requests for updating and deleting registries, said requests including at least a mobile agent identifier and said count of the accumulated number of movements for said mobile agent; and

at said registration server;

renewing location information of each of said mobile agents kept by said registration server with said requests wherein said registration server comprises at least one register for maintaining accumulated number of movements and locations of each of said mobile agents in an associated manner and further comprising said registration server renewing said location information of each of said mobile agents only upon receipt of requests for updating location information associated with a higher accumulated number of movements.