Store-and-forward messaging channel for occasionally connected mobile applications

• US 7,613,828 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Issued: 11/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zintel, William M., Kuryata, Sergiy, Batoukov, Roman
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Conaway; James E
• Application Number:
  US11/622,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20080172467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 709/218, 709201-203, 709/239, 719/330
• US Class Current: 709/239
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Sending and receiving application or service data through an email transport for mobile computing devices occasionally disconnected from network connectivity. At a sending service or application, application or service data is intercepted from the application or service. The application or service data is packaged in an email message. The email message includes the application or service data within the email envelope and an identification of an application or service client to which the application or service data should be applied at a client computer system. The email message is sent through an email transport to a mobile client computer system which includes the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied. At the client the email message is intercepted. The data is extracted from the email envelope. The application or service client is identified. The data is routed to the appropriate application or service.

Claims

1. In a mobile network computing environment including mobile computing devices that may be occasionally or frequently disconnected from network connectivity, a method of providing a fall-back transport so that when other transports fail due to disconnection of a mobile device from the network, receiving application or service data that is typically received via the other network transports can still be accomplished, the method comprising:

at a service connected to the network, intercepting service or application data from a service or application, and the service packaging the service or application data in an email envelope of an email message, the service also including in the email envelope an identification of an application or service to which the application or service data should be applied;

intercepting at an email server connected to the network the email message packaged with the service or application data and the identification of the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied;

from the email server, forwarding the email message to a mobile device and then extracting the application or service data from the email envelope along with the identification of the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied;

the mobile device then using the identification of the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied to identify from among a plurality of applications or services the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied; and

in the event of a failure of other network transports, the email service then routing the application data to an appropriate application or service as identified.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein intercepting an email message comprises identifying an email message to a specific address, wherein the address is used to identify a mobile client computer system to which the application or service data should be transmitted to, further wherein the address is used to identify that the email message contains application or service data applicable to one or more of the plurality of applications or services.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying from among a plurality of applications or services the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied comprises referencing a given email property, wherein the email property acts as a networking port.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the given email property is a subject field.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the email through a standard email encryption protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

verifying a signature used to sign the application or service data; and

decrypting the application or service data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein verifying and decrypting are performed using a WS-Security protocol.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending the email message from the email service through an email transport to a mobile client computer system including the application or service to which the application or service data should be applied.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the application or service data is pushed from a server to the mobile client computer system.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein a property of the email message is used to identify a service or application to which the application or service data should be applied.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the property of the email message is a subject field of the email message.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the application or service data comprises data from a Web Service.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending the email message using one or more standardized email encryption protocols.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising, prior to packaging the application or service data in an email message:

encrypting the application or service data; and

signing the application or service data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein encrypting the application or service data and signing the application or service data is performed using a WS-Security protocol.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein sending the email message through an email transport comprises sending the email to one or more standard email servers, the email servers requiring no specialized configuration to be able to transport the application or service data.

17. A computer storage medium comprising computer executable instructions configured to perform the method of claim 1.