System and method for data synchronization over a network using a presentation level protocol

• US 8,069,226 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Best, Ryan, Momchilov, Georgy, Frost, Simon
• Primary Examiner(s): Zele; Krista
• Assistant Examiner(s): LINDSEY, MATTHEW S
• Application Number:
  US10/711,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20060075105A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,616 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4413 Plug-and-play [PnP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• 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 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A mechanism for synchronizing data on a device communicating with a client system with data accessible from a server-hosted session is disclosed. The synchronization occurs over a network connection using a presentation-level protocol to transmit communications between the client system and the server system. Devices communicating with the client system are mapped into a user session. Once the device is mapped into the server-hosted session, data on the device in communication with the client system are synchronized with data accessible from the user-hosted session.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing data on a device in communication with a client system, said method comprising:

receiving, by a control virtual driver executing on a server, an event notification that a device is in communication with a client system via a USB connection, the event notification comprising at least a device name, a product identifier and a universal identifier;

binding, by a redirector virtual driver executing on the server, the event notification to a port number associated with a virtual communication channel to generate binding information associated with the device, the binding information comprising a COM port number for the virtual communication channel, the device name, the product identifier and the universal identifier;

mapping, by a driver mapping module executing on the server and responsive to receipt of the event notification, the device into a user session hosted by the server communicating with said client system via a presentation-level protocol and via the COM port number referenced in the binding information;

creating, by the server, a session-specific network layer virtual loop-back address based on a session ID of the user session;

executing, by said server within the user session, an instance of an application; and

synchronizing, by a synchronization application executing within the user session, a collection of data on said device with a collection of data accessible from said user session as a result of the execution of said instance, by redirecting communications of the synchronization application directed to a local loop-back address to the session-specific network layer virtual loop-back address.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein mapping the device further comprises mapping a device communicating with the client system via a WI-FI communication protocol.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein mapping the device further comprises mapping a device communicating with the client system via an IR serial communication protocol.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said device communicates with the client system using a Bluetooth serial communication protocol.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said device communicates with the client system using a wireless USB/ultra-wideband wireless communication protocol.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

synchronizing a collection of data on the device with a collection of data accessible from the user session as a result of the execution of an application instance that uses socket communication for inter-process communications; and

hooking a socket call within the user session.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said hooking is virtual loop-back address hooking.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said hooking is virtual IP address hooking.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

synchronizing a collection of data on the device with a collection of data accessible from the user session as a result of the execution of an application that uses socket communication for inter-process communications; and

hooking a socket call on the server.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the client system is a proxy client.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the proxy client is hosted on the same server supporting the user session.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the proxy client is hosted on a different server than the server supporting the user session.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the identity of the device in communication with said client system; and

determining that the device is a member of a registered device class.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the device communicates with the client system via a USB connection.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

intercepting at least one device enumeration method in a session hosted by the server, said enumeration method enumerating at least one device communicating with the client.

16. A system for synchronizing data on a device in communication with a client system, the system comprising:

a client system comprising a processor that executes a presentation-level protocol to communicate with a server system, said client system executing including an event manager to generate event notifications based on a communication received from a device interfacing with said client system, the event notifications comprising at least a device name, a product identifier and a universal identifier, the device communicating with said client system and having a collection of data;

a control virtual driver executing on the server system to receive the event notifications;

a redirector virtual driver executing on the server system to bind the event notifications to a port number associated with a virtual communication channel to generate binding information associated with the device, the binding information comprising a COM port number for the virtual communication channel, the device name, the product identifier and the universal identifier; and

the server system communicating with said client system via the presentation-level protocol, and hosting at least one user session executing an instance of an application used to synchronize a collection of data on said device with a collection of data accessible from said user session by redirecting communications of the synchronization application directed to a local loop-back address to a session-specific network layer virtual loop-back address based on a session ID of the user session.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said event manager is a Plug and Play event manager and said event notification is a Plug and Play event notification.

18. The system of claim 16 further comprising:

an application instance using socket communication for inter-process communications; and

the application instance synchronizing the collection of data on the client with the collection of data accessible from the server by allowing the server to hook a socket call made by the application instance.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the socket call is hooked within the user session.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the socket call is hooked using virtual IP address hooking.

21. The system of claim 18 wherein the socket call is hooked using virtual loop-back address hooking.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the device interfaces with the client system via a USB connection.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said event manager is a Plug and Play event manager and said event notification is a Plug and Play event notification.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions executable by a processor to synchronize data on devices communicating with a client system with data on a server, the computer readable medium comprising:

instructions for receiving, by a control virtual driver executing on a server, an event notification that a device is in communication with a client system via a USB connection, the event notification comprising at least a device name, a product identifier and a universal identifier;

instructions for binding, by a redirector virtual driver executing on the server, the event notification to a port number associated with a virtual communication channel to generate binding information associated with the device, the binding information comprising a COM port number for the virtual communication channel, the device name, the product identifier and the universal identifier;

instructions for mapping, by a driver mapping module executing on the server and responsive to receipt of the event notification, the device into a user session hosted by the server communicating with said client system via a presentation-level protocol and via the COM port number referenced in the binding information;

instructions for creating, by the server, a session-specific network layer virtual loop-back address based on a session ID of the user session;

instructions for executing, by the server within the user session, an instance of an application; and

instructions for synchronizing, by a synchronization application executing within the user session, a collection of data on said device with a collection of data accessible to said user session as a result of the execution of said application instance, by redirecting communications of the synchronization application directed to a local loop-back address to the session-specific network layer virtual loop-back address.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein said device communicates with the client system using a wireless USB/ultra-wideband wireless communication protocol.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein said device communicates with the client system using an IR serial communication protocol.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein said device communicates with the client system via a Bluetooth serial communication protocol.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 24 further comprising:

instructions for executing an instance of an application using socket communication for inter-process communications; and

instructions for synchronizing a collection of data on said device with a collection of data accessible to the user session include instructions for hooking a socket call within the session.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 28 wherein said hooking is virtual loop-back address hooking.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 28 wherein said hooking is virtual IP address hooking.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein said application instance uses socket communication for inter-process communications and the computer-readable medium further comprises:

instructions for hooking a socket call on the server console.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, further comprising:

instructions for determining the identity of the device in communication with the client system via a USB connection, said client system communicating with a server using a presentation-level protocol; and

instructions for determining that the device is a member of a registered device class.