Peer tunnels and peer group targets

• US 7,562,151 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2005
• Issued: 07/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kaler, Christopher G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao; Seema S
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, XAVIER S
• Application Number:
  US11/290,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20070121671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,322 Days
• Field of Search: 370/395.5, 370464-467, 370/469, 370/473, 370/474, 370/476, 370/389, 370/390, 370/395.1, 709/230, 709/231, 709/236, 709/238, 709/246
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems

Abstract

Transferring data using peer-to-peer protocols. A method may be practiced, for example, at a computer system in a computer network. The computer network may include one or more networked agents formed into a peer group of peers using at least one peer-to-peer connection. The method includes an act of receiving a computer readable message from a peer-to-peer network. The computer readable message is a centric message enveloped in a peer-to-peer message. The centric message is extracted. The centric message is delivered to an agent configured for centric type communications.

Claims

1. At a computer system in a computer network including one or more networked agents formed into a peer group of peers using at least one peer-to-peer connection, a method of transferring data, the method comprising acts of:

receiving a computer readable message from a peer-to-peer network, the computer readable message being a centric message enveloped in a peer-to-peer message, wherein a centric message is defined as a message relying on centralized authority to define network organization and a peer-to-peer message is defined as a message with no central authority defining network organization;

determining whether the message is intended for the computer system, or a different computer system in the peer group;

in response to a determination that the message is intended for a different computer system in the peer group, sending the message to a plurality of peers that the computer system is aware of within the peer group;

in response to a determination that the message is intended for the computer system;

extracting the centric message contained within the message; and

delivering the centric message to an agent configured for centric type communications in a centric format expected by the agent, such that the agent communicates with other centric type communication agents over the peer-to-peer network without awareness of the peer-to-peer network over which the centric message was communicated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the centric message is at least one of an Simple Message Transfer Protocol (SMTP), an Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), a Post Office Protocol (POP), or a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer readable message is Radio Frequency (RF) message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more networked agents comprise smart peripherals connected to the computer system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a computer readable message from a peer-to-peer network comprises receiving the computer readable message at a protocol stack that includes a peer-to-peer protocol and a centric protocol, the method further comprising the peer-to-peer protocol examining the computer readable message to determine that it contains a centric message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the computer readable message is transparent to the agent configured for centric type communications.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a peer file server, the method further comprising delivering the centric message to a local peer client.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a computer readable message from a peer-to-peer network comprises receiving a Web Services message.

9. At a sending computer system in a computer network including one or more networked agents formed into a peer group of peers using at least one peer-to-peer connection, a method of transferring data, the method comprising acts of:

sending a centric message from an agent configured for centric type communications, the message having an intended centric recipient, wherein a centric message is defined as a message relying on centralized authority to define network organization;

receiving the centric message at a peer-to-peer conversion module;

enveloping the centric message in a peer-to-peer message, wherein a peer-to-peer message is defined as a message with no central authority defining network organization; and

sending the peer-to-peer message enveloping the centric message to a plurality of peers in the peer group using a peer-to-peer protocol irrespective of whether the plurality of peers includes the intended recipient of the centric message, wherein sending the peer-to-peer message irrespective of whether the plurality of peers includes the intended recipient includes sending the peer-to-peer message enveloping the centric message to a plurality of peers configured to;

at a recipient computer system within the peer group, receive the peer-to-peer messages enveloping the centric message and determine whether the message is intended the recipient computer system or for a different computer system;

in response to determining that the message is intended for a different computer system, send the message to a plurality of peers also within the peer group; and

in response to determining that the message is intended for the recipient computer system, extract the centric message and deliver the centric message to an agent, and in a format expected by the agent, such that the agent communicates with other centric-type communication agents over the peer-to-peer network without awareness of the peer-to-peer network over which the centric message was communicated.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein sending a message from an agent configured for centric type communications comprises sending at least one of a Simple Message Transfer Protocol (SMTP), an Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), a Post Office Protocol (POP), or a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

11. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message comprises sending Radio Frequency (RF) protocol message.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message comprises sending a Web Services message.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein sending a message from an agent configured for centric type communications comprises addressing the message to a distribution list, wherein the distribution list maps to the peer group.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sending computer system comprises a protocol stack including a peer-to-peer protocol, the method further comprising examining the message at the peer-to-peer protocol to determine that the message is addressed to the peer group, and in response, the act of sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message to one or more of the peers in the peer group using a peer-to-peer protocol comprises sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message to the peer group.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message to one or more of the peers in the peer group using a peer-to-peer protocol comprises sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message to the entire peer group irrespective of any addressing done at that agent configured for centric type communications.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the message enveloped in the peer-to-peer message is transparent to the agent configured for centric type communications.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the sending computer system comprises a peer file server configured to send messages across a peer-to-peer network.

18. At a computer network comprising a plurality of agents communicatively coupled as peers, each of the agents comprising host computing systems implementing applications designed to communicated through centric protocols, the plurality of agents forming a peer group of peers using at least one peer-to-peer connection, a method of transferring a communication from an email client application at an originating peer to an email server application at a destination peer through the peer to peer network without requiring a centric communication path between the peers, the method comprising acts of:

the email client application sending an email message using a centric protocol, wherein a centric protocol is one that relies on a centralized authority to define network organization and a peer-to-peer protocol is one that has no central authority defining network organization, wherein the email client application is connected to a protocol stack that includes a centric protocol and a peer-to-peer protocol, the email message being sent using the centric protocol and intended for an email server application;

a peer-to-peer conversion module receiving the email message, wherein the peer-to-peer conversion module is located at a location other than a location identified as a destination in the centric message;

the peer-to-peer conversion module enveloping the email message in a peer-to-peer protocol message;

sending the peer-to-peer protocol message enveloping the email message to a plurality of peers in the peer group using the peer-to-peer protocol irrespective of whether the plurality of peers includes the intended recipient of the email message; and

at each of the plurality of peers;

receiving the peer-to-peer protocol message enveloping the email message at a protocol stack associated with the peer;

determining whether the peer-to-peer protocol message is intended for an email server application at the peer that received the peer-to-peer protocol message or is instead intended for email server application at a different peer in the peer group; and

in response to a determination that the peer-to-peer protocol message is intended for the email server application at a different peer in the peer group, sending the peer-to-peer protocol message to peers of the peer group that peer is aware of;

in response to a determination that the peer-to-peer protocol message is intended for the email server application associated with the peer;

passing the peer-to-peer protocol message through the protocol stack associated with the peer to extract the email message contained within the peer-to-peer message; and

delivering the email message to the email server application associated with the peer and configured for centric type communications in a centric format expected by the destination network agent, such that the email client application communicates with the email server application over the peer-to-peer network without awareness of the peer-to-peer network over which the email message was communicated.