Application service peering and aggregation

• US 7,912,902 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2004
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nytell Software LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Telcordia Licensing Co LLC (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Cheng, Kong, Pinheiro, Robert, Lin, Fuchun J., Falchuk, Benjamin, Jokubaitis, Vito
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr.; William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gupta; Muktesh G
• Application Number:
  US10/779,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20050033808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,594 Days
• Field of Search: 717/171, 709/219, 709/201, 709/202
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers

Abstract

Service applications at one or more service providers are bundled through a server thereby creating new services. The server comprises service agents, each of which corresponds to one or more service applications and proxies for its application(s) to perform service bundling. When a subscriber interacts with a service application and affects service specific data, the application sends this data along with the subscriber'"'"'s intent with respect to this data to the server. The server next identifies a primary service agent, which is the agent proxying for the application. This agent determines a peer group of service agents, wherein each peer agent corresponds to a service application that together define a bundled service. The principal and peer agents subsequently negotiate/coordinate with respect to the service data. As a result, the agents may communicate with their respective service applications to determine a subscriber'"'"'s current service data configurations and/or to update these configurations.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one computing device in communication with one or more service provider domains, the at least one computing device comprising;

a plurality of service agents, individual ones of the service agents corresponding to one or more service applications located within the one or more service provider domains, and two or more of the plurality of service agents are configured to autonomously intercommunicate to bundle corresponding one or more service applications,

a service bus agent configured to route messages between the one or more service applications and the plurality of service agents, and

a user preference and profile agent configured to maintain one or more peer groups comprising a set of associated service agents of the plurality of service agents to define a bundled service,

wherein the service bus agent is configured to receive a service event from at least one of the one or more service applications located within the one or more service provider domains,

wherein the service bus agent is configured to forward the service event to a primary service agent of the plurality of service agents, the primary service agent corresponding to the at least one of the one or more service applications,

wherein the primary service agent is configured to communicate with the user preference and profile agent to obtain at least one of the one or more peer groups in response to receipt of the service event, and

wherein the primary service agent and the at least one of the one or more peer groups of service agents are configured to, in response to receipt of the service event, autonomously intercommunicate to bundle the one or more service applications by updating service specific data of the one or more service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the at least one of the one or more peer groups of service agents.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the service event comprises service specific data and information regarding an intent for use by the at least one of the one or more service applications with respect to the service specific data.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the two or more of the plurality of service agents proxy for the one or more service applications.

12. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bundled service comprises an aggregate of the one or more service applications.

14. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the one or more peer groups are configured to change dynamically.

4. A method comprising:

a service bus agent at a computing device receiving a service event from a service application of one or more service applications, the service application located within at least one service domain in communication with the computing device,

the service bus agent determining a primary service agent that corresponds to the service application and forwarding the service event to the primary service agent,

the primary service agent obtaining a peer group of service agents that correspond to one or more service applications from a user preference and profile agent based at least in part on the service event, and

the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents autonomously intercommunicating to bundle the one or more service applications by updating service specific data of at least one of the one or more service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents.

5. The method in accordance with claim 4 wherein the service event comprises service specific data and the service application'"'"'s intent with respect to the service specific data.

13. The method in accordance with claim 4 wherein the autonomously intercommunicating to bundle the one or more service applications comprises aggregating the one or more service applications.

15. The method in accordance with claim 4 wherein the peer group of service agents changes dynamically.

6. A method comprising:

one or more computing devices comprising one or more servers in communication with at least one service domain receiving data along with a subscriber'"'"'s intent with respect to the data from at least one service application of one or more service applications, the at least one service application located within the at least one service domain,

at least one of the one or more computing devices comprising one or more servers in communication with at least one service domain identifying a primary service agent as a proxy for the at least one service application,

the primary service agent determining a peer group of service agents, wherein the peer group of service agents comprises at least one service agent corresponding to at least one other service application of the one or more service applications that together with the at least one service application define a bundled service,

the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents coordinating with respect to the data and the subscriber'"'"'s intent with respect to the data from the at least one service application; and

the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents communicating with their respective corresponding service applications to at least one of determine or update the subscriber'"'"'s service specific data configurations.

7. The method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents coordinate with respect to the primary service agent'"'"'s determinations of preferences of the subscriber prior to communicating with their respective corresponding service applications to at least one of determine or update the subscriber'"'"'s service specific data configurations.

8. The method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents communicate with their respective corresponding service applications to at least one of determine or update the subscriber'"'"'s service data configurations to affect behaviors of the service applications.

9. An apparatus configured to bundle one or more service applications to create a new service, the apparatus comprising:

at least one computing device in communication with at least one service domain, the at least one computing device comprising a service peering and aggregation server comprising;

a plurality of service agents configured to serve as proxies for one or more service applications and to autonomously communicate with each other to bundle the one or more service applications by updating service specific data of the one or more service applications to create a new service,

a user preference and profile agent configured to maintain preference profile information for each subscriber who subscribes to the service peering and aggregation server, and

a service bus agent comprising a plurality of event interface and adaptation modules and a message queuing and routing module.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising an agent directory interface within the service bus agent.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a profile and subscription database configured to interface with the user preference and profile agent.

16. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the service peering and aggregation server is supported by an agent platform configured to facilitate a message passing paradigm.

17. A system configured to bundle one or more service applications to create one or more bundled services, the one or more service applications located within one or more service provider domains, the system comprising:

at least one computing device in communication with the one or more service domains, the at least one computing device comprising;

a plurality of service agents corresponding to the one or more service applications;

a service bus agent configured to route messages between the one or more service applications and the plurality of service agents; and

a user preference and profile agent configured to maintain one or more peer groups, individual peer groups comprising a set of the one or more service agents associated to define one of the one or more bundled services,

at least one service provider domains operating at service provider domain computing devices, the at least one service provider domain comprising one or more service applications located within the at least one service provider domain, wherein at least one of the one or more service applications is configured to generate and send a service event to the service bus agent in response to which the service bus agent is configured to forward the service event to a primary service agent of the plurality of service agents,

wherein the primary service agent is configured to communicate with the user preference and profile agent to obtain a peer group of service agents corresponding to the one or more service applications, and

wherein the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents, in response to the service bus agent forwarding the service event to the primary service event, are configured to autonomously intercommunicate to create at least one of the one or more bundled services by updating service specific data of the one or more service applications, the at least one bundled service of the one or more bundled services comprising an aggregation of the one or more service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a means for receiving data and a service event intent with respect to the data from at least one service application,

a means for identifying at least one primary service agent as a proxy for the at least one service application,

a means for determining a peer group of service agents in response to receiving the data and the service event intent with respect to the data, wherein the peer group of service agents corresponds to service applications that together define a bundled service, and

a means for communicating with service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents to at least one of determine or update service data configurations based at least in part on the service event intent.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising a means for coordinating the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents with respect to the data prior to communicating with the service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents to at least one of determine or update the service data configurations.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising a means for coordinating the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents with respect to the primary service agent'"'"'s determinations of preferences prior to communicating with the service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents to at least one of determine or update the service data configurations.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the means for communicating with the service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents to at least one of determine or update the service data configurations further comprises updating the service data configurations to affect behaviors of at least one of the service applications corresponding to the primary service agent and the peer group of service agents.