Combining SIP requests with SIP responses

• US 8,060,640 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2005
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sekaran, Dhigha
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Phouc
• Assistant Examiner(s): SISON, JUNE Y
• Application Number:
  US11/140,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,363 Days
• Field of Search: 709/232
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/147 Signalling methods or messages providing extensions to protocols defined by standardisation
• 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

A method and system for combining SIP requests with SIP responses is provided. When a server receives a request from a client, a message combining system of the server sends a response to the request that includes the content of a request that the server would normally send to the client in a separate request. The message combining system of the server composes a response as it would normally and adds the content of the subsequent request to the response. The server then sends the combined response and request to the client. When the client receives the response, it retrieves and processes the combined request.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for reducing network traffic that uses a session initiation protocol (“

SIP”

) to provide presence information, the method comprising;

receiving at a server SIP requests from clients, the received SIP requests requesting to subscribe to presence information provided by the server; and

for each received SIP request received from one of the clients,

creating a SIP response to the received SIP request from the client, the created SIP response indicating that client has been successfully subscribed to presence information provided by the server;

creating a SIP notify request that includes presence information provided by the server;

determining whether the received SIP request from the client includes an indication that the client supports combining SIP requests with SIP responses and whether the server supports combining SIP requests with SIP responses;

upon determining that not both the client and the server support combining SIP requests with SIP responses, sending to the client the created SIP response;

sending to the client separately from the created SIP response the created SIP notify request wherein the client sends a SIP notify response to the SIP notify request when the SIP notify request is sent separately from the created SIP response; and

when a SIP notify response to the sent SIP notify request is not received from the client within a certain time period, sending to the client another SIP notify request that includes presence information provided by the server; and

upon determining that both the client and the server support combining SIP requests with SIP responses,

adding to the created SIP response the created SIP notify request and an indication that the server supports combining SIP notify requests with SIP responses;

sending to the client the created SIP response including the added SIP notify request from the server wherein the client does not send a SIP notify response to the SIP notify request added to the SIP response; and

when the client does not receive the sent SIP response including the added SIP notify request, receiving at the server the SIP request that is resent from the client

so that when both the client and the server support combining SIP requests, a separate SIP request notifying the client of initial presence information to which the client has subscribed is avoided.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the server and client are part of an instant messaging service.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the SIP response to the client contains a sequence number that would be contained on the combined SIP request were it sent separately.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the client indicates that it supports combining requests by adding a special header to the SIP request.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the server adds the special header to the SIP response to reflect it back to the client.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is a presence server.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the SIP request from the server includes a presence document.

8. A method in computer systems for reducing network traffic that uses SIP, the method comprising:

sending a first SIP request from a client to a first server, the first SIP request requesting to subscribe to first presence information and indicating that the client supports the first server combining a first SIP notify request with a first SIP response to the first SIP request;

upon receiving the first SIP request at the first server;

determining by the first server whether the first SIP request indicates that the client supports the first server combining the first SIP notify request with the first SIP response; and

upon determining that the first SIP request indicates support, sending from the first server to the client the first SIP response that includes the first SIP notify request that includes the first presence information;

waiting at the client for the first SIP response;

when the first SIP response is received from the first server,

determining by the client from the first SIP response whether the first SIP response includes the first SIP notify request; and

when it is determined that the first SIP response includes a the first SIP notify request, retrieving by the client the first SIP notify request from the first SIP response without sending to the first server a first SIP notify response to the first SIP notify request; and

when a second SIP notify request is received by the client from the first server after the first SIP notify response is received from the first server, sending from the client a second SIP notify response to the first server; and

when the first SIP response is not received from the first server, resending the first SIP request from the client to the first server;

sending a second SIP request from the client to a second server, the second SIP request requesting to subscribe to second presence information and indicating that the client supports the second server combining a third SIP notify request with a second SIP response to the second SIP request;

upon receiving the second SIP request at the second server;

sending from the second server to the client the second SIP response; and

sending from the second server to the client the third SIP notify request separately from the second SIP response;

waiting at the client for the second SIP response;

when the second SIP response is received from the second server,

determining by the client from the second SIP response whether the second SIP response includes the third SIP notify request; and

when it is determined that the second SIP response does not include the third SIP notify request and upon receiving the third SIP notify request, sending to the second server a third SIP notify response to the third SIP notify request

so that a number of separate communications sent from the first server to the client and from the client to the first server is reduced when the first server supports combining the first SIP notify request with the first SIP response but a number of separate communication sent from the second server to the client and from the client to the second server is not reduced when the second server does not support combining the third SIP notify request with the second SIP response.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the server and client are part of an instant messaging service.

10. A computer-readable storage device containing instructions for controlling a first device to perform a method comprising:

receiving at the first device a SIP request from a second device, the SIP request indicating whether the second device supports combining SIP requests with SIP responses;

creating a SIP response to the SIP request;

receiving from a user text of an instant message during an instant message session;

when the SIP request does not indicate that the second device supports combining SIP requests with SIP responses, sending to the second device the created SIP response;

sending to the second device separately from the SIP response a SIP request that includes information provided by the first device wherein the second device sends a SIP response to a SIP request when the SIP request is sent separately from the SIP response, the information indicating that text of an instant message is being received from the user by typing of the text by the user; and

when a SIP response to the sent SIP request is not received from the second device, resending to the second device the SIP request that was sent separately; and

when the SIP request indicates that the second device supports combining SIP requests with SIP responses, adding to the SIP response a SIP request that includes information provided by the first device, the information indicating that text of an instant message is being received from the user by typing of the text by the user; and

sending to the second device the SIP response including the added SIP request wherein the second device does not send a SIP response to the SIP request added to the SIP response

so that the first device can avoid sending a SIP request that is separate from the sending of the SIP response.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10 wherein the SIP response to the second device contains a sequence number that would be contained on the combined SIP request were it sent separately.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10 wherein the second device indicates that it supports combining requests by adding a special header to the SIP request.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 12 wherein the first device adds the special header to the SIP response to reflect it back to the second device.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10 wherein the first device is a presence server.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10 wherein the SIP request from the first device includes a presence document.