Establishing and utilizing terminal server dynamic virtual channels

• US 7,904,563 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lotlikar, Mahesh S., Patwardhan, Makarand V., Stoyanov, Vladimir K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chankong; Dohm
• Application Number:
  US11/395,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20070244966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/231, 709/228, 709/204, 709/205, 709/203, 709/219, 709/227, 709/229, 709/238, 395/200.57, 395/681, 395/200.6
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for establishing and utilizing terminal server dynamic virtual channels. In some embodiments, a terminal server sends a new channel request to a terminal server. The client receives the new channel request and forwards the new channel request to a listener for a plug-in. The listener creates an instance of the client side plug-in and sends a channel accept to the terminal server. The terminal server receives the channel accept and creates an instance of a server side plug-in. The server and the client agree to use a unique identifier for identifying the established dynamic virtual channel. In other embodiments, data for a dynamic virtual channel is tunneled between computers over a static virtual channel.

Claims

1. At a terminal server comprising a server side plug-in, a method for establishing a dynamic virtual channel between the server side plug-in and a corresponding client side plug-in at a client, both of the server side plug-in and the corresponding client side plug-in being associated with a common plug-in name, the method comprising:

an act of establishing, over a terminal server session, a static virtual channel between the server side plug-in at the terminal server and the corresponding client side plug-in at the client by at least sending the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in to the client side plug-in, wherein the static virtual channel is identifiable by the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in and wherein the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in is also usable by a server component at the terminal server to communicate with a client component at the client via the static virtual channel;

an act of sending a new channel request over the terminal server session via the static virtual channel to create a new dynamic virtual channel between the server side plug-in at the terminal server and the corresponding client side plug-in at the client, the new channel request including the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in;

an act of receiving a channel accept from the client, the channel accept indicative of a listener for the client side plug-in receiving the channel request and creating an instance of the client side plug-in;

an act of creating an instance of the server side plug-in to communicate with the instance of the client side plug-in;

an act of the server component at the terminal server negotiating with the client component at the client to establish the new dynamic virtual channel over the terminal server session between the instance of the server side plug-in and the instance of the client side plug-in; and

an act of the server component agreeing to a unique identifier for the established new dynamic virtual channel, the unique identifier usable by the server component to forward communication from the instance of the server side plug-in to the instance of the client side plug-in via the new dynamic virtual channel, the unique identifier differing from the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the terminal server session is one of an RDP session or an ICA session.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving a channel accept from the client comprises an act of receiving a channel accept message over the terminal server session.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of a server component at the terminal server negotiating with a client component comprises an act of negotiating over the static virtual channel.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of sending a close command to the client to indicate that the terminal server intends to close the dynamic virtual channel.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of sending a close command to the terminal server to indicate that the client intends to close the dynamic virtual channel.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein forwarding communication from the instance of the server side plug-in to the instance of the client side plug-in via the new dynamic virtual channel further comprises forwarding communication via the static virtual channel.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising identifying the new dynamic virtual channel with the unique identifier and the static virtual channel with the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein forwarding communication from the instance of the server side plug-in to the instance of the client side plug-in via the new dynamic virtual channel facilitates at least one of printer redirection, clipboard redirection, and transfer of Universal Serial Bus data.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of sending another new channel request over the terminal server session via the static virtual channel to create another new dynamic virtual channel between the server side plug-in at the terminal server and the corresponding client side plug-in at the client, the another new channel request including the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in;

an act of receiving another channel accept from the client, the another channel accept indicative of a listener for the client side plug-in receiving the channel request and creating another instance of the client side plug-in;

an act of creating another instance of the server side plug-in to communicate with the another instance of the client side plug-in;

an act of the server component at the terminal server negotiating with the client component at the client to establish the another new dynamic virtual channel over the terminal server session between the another instance of the server side plug-in and the another instance of the client side plug-in; and

an act of the server component agreeing to another unique identifier for the established another new dynamic virtual channel, the another unique identifier usable by the server component to forward communication from the another instance of the server side plug-in to the another instance of the client side plug-in via the another new dynamic virtual channel, the another unique identifier differing from both the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in and the unique identifier for the new dynamic virtual channel.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising sending another channel request, thereby establishing another dynamic virtual channel between the server side plug-in at the terminal server and the corresponding client side plug-in at the client, the another dynamic virtual channel identified by another unique identifier that is different from the unique identifier for the new dynamic virtual channel.

16. A computer storage device storing computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor perform the method of claim 1.

12. At a client comprising a client side plug-in, a method for establishing a dynamic virtual channel between the client side plug-in and a corresponding server side plug-in at a terminal server, both of the client side plug-in and the corresponding server side plug-in being associated with a common plug-in name, the method comprising:

an act of establishing, over a terminal server session, a static virtual channel between the client side plug-in at the client and the corresponding server side plug-in at the terminal server by at least receiving the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in from the server side plug-in, wherein the static virtual channel is identifiable by the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in and wherein the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in is also usable b a client component at the client to communicate with a server component at the terminal server via the static virtual channel;

an act of receiving a new channel request over the terminal server session via the static virtual channel to create a new dynamic virtual channel between the client side plug-in at the client and the corresponding server side plug-in at the terminal server, the new channel request including the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in;

an act of forwarding the new channel request to a listener for the plug-in having the included name;

an act of the listener creating an instance of the client side plug-in, in response to receiving the new channel request;

an act of sending a channel accept to the terminal server, the channel accept indicative of the listener creating the instance of the client side plug-in;

an act of the client component negotiating with the server component at the terminal server to establish the new dynamic virtual channel over the terminal server session between the instance of the client side plug-in and a corresponding instance of the server side plug-in at the terminal server; and

an act of the server component agreeing to a unique identifier for the established new dynamic virtual channel, the unique identifier usable by the client component to forward communication from the instance of the client side plug-in to the instance of the server side plug-in via the new dynamic virtual channel, the unique identifier differing from the common plug-in name of the client side plug-in.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the terminal server session is one of an RDP session or an ICA session.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the act of sending a channel accept from to the terminal server comprises an act of sending a channel accept message over the terminal server session.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the act of client component at the client negotiating with a server component at the terminal server comprises an act of negotiating over the static virtual channel.

17. A computer storage device storing computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor perform the method of claim 12.