Application programming interface for inviting participants in a serverless peer to peer network

• US 8,036,140 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2005
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tao, Kevin R., Anirudh, Anirudh, Weisberg, Tomer, Thaler, David G., Flannery, Eliot John, Rao, Ravi, Parks, Upshur Warren III, Classen, Andre R., Manion, Todd R., Gupta, Rohit
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Chirag
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith; Joshua
• Application Number:
  US11/112,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20060239295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,363 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1068 Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Methods and computer readable mediums are described that facilitate inviting user entities on a network. The method may include initiating a first application for sending an invitation by a first user entity on a first endpoint, selecting a second user entity to receive the invitation, and selecting an activity. The method may also include sending from the first endpoint to the second user entity the invitation to participate in the activity if the first endpoint determines the activity is supported by a computing application on the first endpoint.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of inviting a user entity to participate in a selected activity on a peer network, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving an input initiating a first computing application for sending an invitation by a first user entity on a first endpoint on the peer network;

receiving a selection of a second user entity to receive the invitation;

resolving an address for a second endpoint on the peer network associated with the second user entity using a peer-to-peer serverless protocol;

receiving, at the first endpoint through the peer network, capability information, wherein the capability information is different from the address of the second endpoint, the capability information describing capabilities of the second endpoint to perform a collaborative user activity by executing a software application installed at the second endpoint, the capability information including at least dynamic real-time capabilities of the second user entity and identifying the software application at the second endpoint regardless of whether the software application at the second endpoint is being executed when the capability information is received at the first endpoint;

receiving a selection at the first endpoint of an activity from a plurality of activities, wherein the selected activity is supported by an application at the first endpoint;

before sending the invitation, determining at the first endpoint, based on the received capability information, whether the second user entity endpoint supports the selected activity; and

in response to determining at the first endpoint that the second user entity endpoint supports the selected activity, sending from the first endpoint to the resolved address of the second user entity endpoint the invitation from the first user entity to the second user entity to participate in the selected activity by executing the software application at the second endpoint.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein an application for sending the invitation from the first endpoint is a messenger application.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising sending the invitation by one of:

synchronously and asynchronously.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising canceling an asynchronous invitation at the first endpoint.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising sending the invitation in one of:

a secure and unsecure manner.

6. A computer storage medium not consisting of a propagated data signal and having computer executable instructions for performing a method of inviting a user entity to participate in a selected activity on a peer network, the method comprising:

receiving an input initiating a first computing application for sending an invitation by a first user entity on a first endpoint on the peer network;

receiving a selection of a second user entity to receive the invitation;

resolving an address for a second endpoint on the peer network associated with the second user entity using a peer-to-peer serverless protocol;

receiving, at the first endpoint through the peer network, capability information, wherein the capability information is different from the address of the second endpoint, the capability information describing capabilities of the second endpoint to perform a collaborative user activity by executing a software application installed at the second endpoint, the capability information including at least dynamic real-time capabilities of the second user entity and identifying the software application at the second endpoint regardless of whether the software application at the second endpoint is being executed when the capability information is received at the first endpoint;

receiving a selection at the first endpoint of an activity from a plurality of activities, wherein the selected activity is supported by an application at the first endpoint;

before sending the invitation, determining at the first endpoint, based on the received capability information, whether the second user entity endpoint supports the selected activity; and

in response to determining at the first endpoint that the second user entity endpoint supports the selected activity, sending from the first endpoint to the resolved address of the second user entity endpoint the invitation from the first user entity to the second user entity to participate in the selected activity by executing the software application at the second endpoint.

7. The computer storage medium of claim 6, wherein an application for sending the invitation from the first endpoint is the first computing application.

8. The computer storage medium of claim 6, wherein an application for sending the invitation from the first endpoint is a messenger application.

9. A system for inviting a user entity to participate in a selected activity on a peer network, comprising:

a processing unit;

a memory, communicatively coupled to the processing unit, storing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, perform the following method;

receiving an input initiating a first computing application for sending an invitation by a first user entity on a first endpoint on the peer network;

receiving a selection of a second user entity to receive the invitation;

resolving an address for a second endpoint on the peer network associated with the second user entity using a peer-to-peer serverless protocol;

receiving, at the first endpoint through the peer network, capability information, wherein the capability information is different from the address of the second endpoint, the capability information describing capabilities of the second endpoint to perform a collaborative user activity by executing a software application installed at the second endpoint, the capability information including at least dynamic real-time capabilities of the second user entity and identifying the software application at the second endpoint regardless of whether the software application at the second endpoint is being executed when the capability information is received at the first endpoint;

receiving a selection at the first endpoint of an activity from a plurality of activities, wherein the selected activity is supported by an application at the first endpoint;

before sending the invitation, determining at the first endpoint, based on the received capability information, whether the second user entity endpoint supports the selected activity; and

in response to determining at the first endpoint that the second user entity supports the selected activity, sending from the first endpoint to the resolved address of the second user entity endpoint the invitation from the first user entity to the second user entity to participate in the selected activity by executing the software application at the second endpoint.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein an application for sending the invitation from the first endpoint is a messenger application.