Transport agnostic pull mode messaging service

• US 7,870,187 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2003
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Smith, Kevin Bowen, LaSalle, Derek N., Sagar, Akash Jeevan, Elien, Jean-Emile
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess; Barbara N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Application Number:
  US10/750,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20050198389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,568 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/207, 709/219, 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• 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 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

Transport agnostic pull mode messaging service enables clients of diverse types to send and receive messages to one another while guaranteeing delivery of messages. Client specific adapters connect to a server and pull messages waiting for them in a queue. Clients may specify themselves as the recipients of the pulled messages, or specify another client as a recipient. This allows users of diverse types of clients to communicate and provides users with greater flexibility regarding how, when, and where they view their messages.

Claims

1. A system for transport agnostic pull mode messaging comprising:

a plurality of first clients of a user, each first client for sending a corresponding first message to a corresponding first adapter using a corresponding first communication protocol, receiving a corresponding response from the corresponding first adapter using the corresponding first communication protocol indicating that the corresponding first message was received, and resending the corresponding first message to the corresponding first adapter using the corresponding first communication protocol if the response from the corresponding first adapter is not received within a predetermined time period, the corresponding first message being destined for a common server engine, specifying particular ones of electronic communications to the user as already received and stored by the common server engine, and also specifying an endpoint comprising another, differing first client of the user;

the corresponding first adapter for each first client, each corresponding first adapter receiving the corresponding first message and sending the response to the corresponding first client using the corresponding first communication protocol indicating that the corresponding first message was received, generating a corresponding second message based on the corresponding first message, and sending the corresponding second message to the common server engine using a common second communication protocol;

the common server engine for;

receiving each corresponding second message and executing at least one instruction based on the received corresponding second message, the at least one executed instruction including a query derived from the corresponding second message for the particular ones of electronic communications to the user as specified in the corresponding first message and as already received and stored by the common server engine;

retrieving from a storage device the particular ones of the electronic communications to the user according to the query and sending the retrieved electronic communications to the endpoint as specified in the corresponding first message, the endpoint being identified by the user in the corresponding first message by way of an identifier of the endpoint; and

determining the endpoint from the identifier thereof from the corresponding second message and storing the retrieved electronic communications in a queue corresponding to the determined endpoint, the determined endpoint accessing the queue and pulling the stored electronic communications therefrom; and

a message storage for storing data associated with each corresponding second message,

the corresponding first communication protocol corresponding to each corresponding first client being different from the first communications protocol corresponding to every other first client, each corresponding first adapter being constructed to communicate with the corresponding first client according to the corresponding and differing first communication protocol, every first adapter being constructed to communicate with the common server engine according to the common second communication protocol, each corresponding first adapter being local to the common server engine and remote from the corresponding first client.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second client for receiving a third message from a second adapter using a third communication protocol; and

a second adapter for receiving a fourth message from the server engine using the protocol, generating a third message based on the fourth message, and sending the third message to a second client using a third communication protocol.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the common second communication protocol is different from the third communication protocol.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the third communication protocol is different from the corresponding first communication protocol.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one instruction comprises an instruction for storing data associated with the corresponding second message in a storage device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein one of the server engine and the adapter determines if the corresponding second message is a duplicate message already stored, and if so, rejects the corresponding second message.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the storage device comprises a queue associated with an endpoint.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the endpoint is associated with the first client.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the endpoint is associated with at least one of a user, a client, and an application different from the client.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first client generates the corresponding first message prior to sending the corresponding first message, the corresponding first message comprising a unique message identifier.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the corresponding first adapter or the common server engine determines if the received corresponding first message is a duplicate of an already received message.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the first client device generates a first client device specific unique identifier corresponding to the corresponding first message, stores the first client specific identifier, and sends the first client device specific identifier along with the corresponding first message to the corresponding first adapter.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the response comprises a first client specific unique message identifier, and the first client verifies that the received response comprising the first client device specific identifier corresponds to a stored first client device specific identifier.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the corresponding first communication protocol is different from the common second communication protocol.

15. A method for transport agnostic pull mode messaging comprising, with respect to each of a plurality of clients of a user:

sending a corresponding first message from a first client of the user to a corresponding adapter using a corresponding first communication protocol, the corresponding first message being destined for a common server engine, specifying particular ones of electronic communications to the user as already received and stored by the common server engine, and also specifying an endpoint comprising another, differing first client of the user;

receiving the corresponding first message at the corresponding adapter;

sending a response to the corresponding first message from the corresponding adapter to the first client using the corresponding first communication protocol, the response to the corresponding first message indicating that the corresponding first message was received;

receiving the response to the corresponding first message at the first client;

resending the corresponding first message from the first client to the corresponding adapter if the response to the corresponding first message from the corresponding adapter is not received at the first client within a predetermined time period;

generating a corresponding second message at the corresponding adapter based on and corresponding to the corresponding first message;

sending the corresponding second message from the corresponding adapter to the common server engine using a common second communication protocol; and

executing at least one instruction at the common server engine based on the corresponding second message, the at least one executed instruction including a query derived from the corresponding second message for the particular ones of electronic communications to the user as specified in the corresponding first message and as already received and stored by the common server engine, the at least one executed instruction retrieving from a storage device the particular ones of the electronic communications to the user according to the query and sending the retrieved electronic communications to the endpoint as specified in the corresponding first message, the endpoint being identified by the user in the corresponding first message by way of an identifier of the endpoint, the common server engine for determining the endpoint from the identifier thereof from the corresponding second message and storing the retrieved electronic communications in a queue corresponding to the determined endpoint, the determined endpoint accessing the queue and pulling the stored electronic communications therefrom;

the corresponding first communication protocol corresponding to each client being different from the corresponding first communications protocol corresponding to every other client, each corresponding adapter being constructed to communicate with the corresponding client according to the corresponding and differing first communication protocol, every adapter being constructed to communicate with the common server engine according to the common second communication protocol, each corresponding adapter being local to the common server engine and remote from the corresponding client.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the corresponding first communication protocol is different from the common second communication protocol.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein executing the at least one instruction comprises storing data associated with the corresponding second message in a storage device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein storing the data in the storage device comprises:

determining if the corresponding second message is a duplicate message already stored; and

rejecting the corresponding second message if it is a duplicate.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the storage device comprises a queue associated with an endpoint.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the endpoint is associated with the first client.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the endpoint is associated with at least one of a user, a client, and an application different from the client.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising generating the corresponding first message prior to sending the corresponding first message, the corresponding first message comprising a unique message identifier.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining at the corresponding adapter or the common server engine if the received corresponding first message is a duplicate of an already received message.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the corresponding first message from the first client to the corresponding adapter comprises:

generating a client specific unique identifier corresponding to the corresponding first message;

storing the client specific unique identifier; and

sending the client specific unique identifier along with the corresponding first message to the corresponding adapter.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the response comprises a client specific unique message identifier, and further comprising verifying the received response comprising the client specific unique identifier corresponds to a stored client specific unique identifier.