System and method for message packaging

• US 7,739,387 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Wiechers, Voker, Eberlein, Peter, Falter, Timm
• Primary Examiner(s): Strange; Aaron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chambers; Michael A
• Application Number:
  US11/716,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20080222248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709/230, 707/1, 710/54
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/566 Grouping or aggregating service requests, e.g. for unified processing

Abstract

A system and method for virtual message packaging is described. A virtual package is collection of messages that share common characteristics and may be processed together. In one embodiment, messages are first grouped according to one or more rules at a client and then formed into a virtual package. In another embodiment, one or more messages are received at a server and then formed into a virtual package for later processing.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

grouping, by a computing system, at least two messages, the computing system comprising at least one processor;

forming, by the computing system, a virtual package of the messages, wherein a virtual package is a collection of at least two messages that share common characteristics and may be processed together, each message carrying a unique message identifier;

establishing a stateful connection between the computing system and a server, transmitting, by the computing system, the messages in the virtual package to the server for processing in batches, each message being transmitted in a separate payload, the state of the connection identifying messages in the virtual package at the server such that if the connection is open, the virtual package has not been sent, and if the connection is closed, the virtual package has been sent.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stateful connection is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol connection using at least one cookie to describe the connection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the grouping is determined by at least one rule selected from a group comprising:

grouping messages of the same type together;

grouping messages that are independent of each other and do not require sequential processing together; and

grouping messages that do not require transactional processing together.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of a virtual package is triggered by at least one rule selected from a group comprising:

triggering the formation of a virtual package when a pre-determined threshold of time has passed;

triggering the formation of a virtual package when a pre-determined number of messages has been grouped; and

triggering the formation of a virtual package when a pre-determined message size has been grouped.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the number of messages in the virtual package is determined by a client.

6. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing system, at least two messages, the computing system comprising at least one processor;

grouping, by the computing system, the at least two me messages;

forming, by the computing system, a virtual package of the at least two messages, wherein a virtual package is a collection of at least two messages that share common characteristics and may be processed together;

establishing, by the computing system, a stateful connection with a client server;

transmitting, by the computing system, in the virtual packages, the corresponding messages to the client server, the messages being transmitted in separate payloads for processing by the client server in batches; and

terminating the stateful connection between the computing system and the client server once the messages are completely transmitted, termination of the stateful connection indicating that the virtual package has been transmitted.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the stateful connection is an HTTP connection using at least cookie to describe the connection.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the forming of the virtual package occurs when the stateful connection is terminated.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving an indication that the virtual package should be formed.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

processing the messages in the virtual package.

11. A method comprising:

grouping, by a computing system, at least two messages, the computing system comprising at least one processor;

forming, by the computing system, a first virtual package of the messages, wherein a virtual package is a collection of at least two messages that share common characteristics and may be processed together, each message carrying a unique message identifier;

establishing a stateful connection between the computer system and a server;

transmitting, by the computing system, messages within the first virtual package to the server one at a time, the server processing received messages in batches;

receiving at least one message from the first virtual package at the server;

determining, by the sewer, whether the complete virtual package has been received based on a state of the connection;

grouping the messages of the first virtual package at the server;

and forming, by the server from at least a portion of the messages in the first virtual package, a second virtual package of the messages, wherein a virtual package is a collection of at least two messages that share common characteristics that are transmitted separately and may be processed together.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

processing the messages in the virtual package.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the stateful connection is an HTTP connection using at least one cookie to describe the connection.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first grouping is determined by at least one rule selected from a group comprising:

grouping messages of the same type together;

grouping messages that are independent of each other and do not require sequential processing together; and

grouping messages that do not require transactional processing together.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the forming of the first virtual package is triggered by at least one selected from a group comprising:

triggering the formation of a virtual package when a pre-determined threshold of time has passed;

triggering the formation of a virtual package when a pre-determined number of messages has been grouped; and

triggering the formation of a virtual package when a pre-determined message size has been grouped.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein if the server only receives a partial virtual package before an error in transmitting, receiving, or processing of the virtual package occurs, transmission of remaining messages in the virtual package is restarted at a point specified by the cookie.