System and method for establishing peer-to-peer bandwidth sharing ad hoc networks

• US 7,894,828 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2007
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Finn, Peter G., Mullins, Philip K., Li, Jenny S., Dawson, Christopher J., Hamilton, Rick A. II
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang; Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui; Kashif
• Application Number:
  US11/755,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20080299988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 370310-350, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1074 for supporting data block transmission mechanisms file transfer H04L67/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/108 characterised by resources being split in blocks or fragments
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

Systems and methods for establishing peer-to-peer bandwidth sharing ad hoc networks. A method includes: determining a first location and a second location of data; instructing a first device to download a first portion of the data from the first location; instructing a second device to download a second portion of the data from the second location; and receiving the first portion of the data from the first device and the second portion of the data from the second device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining a first location and a second location of data;

instructing a first device to download a first portion of the data from the first location;

instructing a second device to download a second portion of the data from the second location; and

receiving the first portion of the data from the first device and the second portion of the data from the second device,

wherein a borrower comprises a borrower device in communication with a remote network;

at least one local device comprises the first device and the second device in communication with the remote network and the borrower device; and

the first device and the second device lend bandwidth to the borrower device for downloading data from or uploading data to the remote network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises transmission using a local wireless communication protocol.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the downloading comprises transmission using a wireless telephony protocol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location is a first remote location and the second location is a second remote location different from the first remote location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the data and the second portion of the data are fragments of a file and the first portion of the data is different from the second portion of data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first location comprises a copy of the file and the second location comprises an other copy of the file.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising reassembling the received first portion of the data and the second portion of the data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the data comprises a first file and the second portion of the data comprises a second file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of claim 1 are provided by a service provider under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or based on advertising content to one or more third parties.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a service provider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports a computer infrastructure that performs the steps of claim 1.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising locating potential lenders.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising querying the potential lenders for availability of sharing bandwidth.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising choosing the first device and the second device from the potential lenders.

14. A method, comprising:

determining a first target location and a second target location;

locating potential lenders;

querying potential lenders for availability of sharing bandwidth;

transmitting a first portion of data and instruction to upload the first portion of data to the first target location to a first lender; and

transmitting a second portion of data and instruction to upload the second portion of data to the second target location to a second lender,

wherein a borrower comprises a first device in communication with a remote network;

at least one local device comprises the first lender and the second lender in communication with the remote network and the first device; and

the first lender and the second lender lend bandwidth to the first device for downloading data from or uploading data to the remote network.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the transmitting a first portion of data and the transmitting a second portion of data comprises transmitting using at least one local wireless communication protocol.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the uploading the first portion of data and the uploading the second portion of data comprises transmission using at least one wireless telephony protocol.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the first target location is a first remote location and the second target location is a second remote location different from the first remote location.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the steps of claim 14 are provided by a service provider under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or based on advertising content to one or more third parties.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein a service provider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports a computer infrastructure that performs the steps of claim 14.

20. A method, comprising:

determining actual or target remote locations of data;

establishing an ad hoc network through direct wireless connections to at least one local device, wherein the establishing the ad hoc network comprises asking the at least one local device whether the at least one local device can communicate with the actual remote locations or the target remote locations; and

receiving data from the actual remote locations or transmitting data to the target remote locations via the at least one local device,

wherein a borrower comprises a first device in communication with a remote network;

the at least one local device comprises a second device in communication with the remote network and the first device; and

the second device lends bandwidth to the first device for downloading data from or uploading data to the remote network.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one local device comprises wireless devices.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the receiving data from the actual remote locations comprises:

transmission from the actual remote locations to the at least one local device using at least one wireless telephony communication protocol; and

transmission from the at least one local device to a borrower using at least one local wireless communication protocol.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the transmitting data to the target remote locations comprises:

transmission from a borrower to the at least one local device using at least one local wireless communication protocol; and

transmission from the at least one local device to the target remote locations using at least one wireless telephony communication protocol.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the establishing an ad hoc network comprises locating potential lenders.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the establishing an ad hoc network further comprises querying the potential lenders for availability of sharing bandwidth.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the establishing an ad hoc network further comprises choosing the at least one local device from the potential lenders.

27. A computer program product comprising a computer usable storage medium having readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer program product includes at least one component to:

determine a target remote location of data;

establish an ad hoc network amongst a borrower and at least one local device, wherein the ad hoc network comprises communication between the borrower and the at least one local device via local wireless communication protocol;

instruct the at least one local device to upload the data to the target remote location via wireless telephony protocol on behalf of the borrower; and

determine whether the data was successfully uploaded by examining the target remote location,

wherein the borrower comprises a first device in communication with a remote network;

the at least one local device comprises a second device in communication with the remote network and the first device; and

the second device lends bandwidth to the first device for downloading data from or uploading data to the remote network.

28. A system, comprising:

a computer infrastructure comprising a combination of hardware and software being configured to;

determine actual or target remote locations of data;

establish an ad hoc network amongst a borrower and at least one local device, wherein the establishing comprises;

asking the at least one local device how much bandwidth the at least one local device has available for lending; and

asking the at least one local device whether the at least one local device can communicate with the actual remote locations or transmit data to the target remote locations; and

receive data from the actual remote locations or transmit data to the target remote locations via the at least one local device,

wherein the borrower comprises a first device in communication with a remote network;

the at least one local device comprises a second device in communication with the remote network and the first device; and

the second device lends bandwidth to the first device for downloading data from or uploading data to the remote network.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein:

the first device and the second device communicate with each other using a local wireless communication protocol, and

the first device and second device each communicates with the remote network using at least one wireless telephony communication protocol.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the at least one local device further comprises a third device in communication with the remote network and the first device.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein:

the second device downloads a first portion of data from the remote network and transmits the first portion of data to the first device;

the third device downloads a second portion of data from the remote network and transmits the second portion of data to the first device.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein:

the first portion of data and the second portion of data are fragments of a file, and

the first device reassembles the first portion of data and the second portion of data to create the file.