Mobile agents in peer-to-peer networks
First Claim
1. A peer-to-peer network system, comprising:
- an initiating peer node, comprising a processor, configured to;
generate an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein, to generate an itinerary, the initiating peer node is configured to;
discover over the peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; and
generate the itinerary from the discovered advertisements, wherein the generated itinerary includes a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes for receiving the mobile agent, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary;
generate the mobile agent including the itinerary indicating the plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network to be visited by the mobile agent, wherein the mobile agent further includes a function configured to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary; and
send the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a first peer node of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the itinerary;
the first peer node, comprising a second processer, configured to;
receive the mobile agent via its corresponding unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe;
perform the function as indicated by the mobile agent; and
send the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a next peer node of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the itinerary.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of a mechanism for implementing mobile agents in peer-to-peer networks. An initiating peer may generate a mobile agent to perform one or more tasks on or gather information from other peers in the peer-to-peer network. The mobile agent may include an itinerary of peers that the mobile agent may visit. The mobile agent may be transmitted on communications channels in the peer-to-peer network to each peer on the itinerary in turn, and return to the initiating peer after visiting or attempting to visit each peer on the itinerary. In one embodiment, the mobile agent may traverse its itinerary via virtual communication channels (pipes) implemented according to a peer-to-peer platform. A mobile agent may include information identifying input pipes for each peer on its itinerary. Peers may generate and advertise input pipes for use by mobile agents.
197 Citations
74 Claims
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1. A peer-to-peer network system, comprising:
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an initiating peer node, comprising a processor, configured to; generate an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein, to generate an itinerary, the initiating peer node is configured to; discover over the peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; and generate the itinerary from the discovered advertisements, wherein the generated itinerary includes a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes for receiving the mobile agent, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary; generate the mobile agent including the itinerary indicating the plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network to be visited by the mobile agent, wherein the mobile agent further includes a function configured to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary; and send the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a first peer node of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the itinerary; the first peer node, comprising a second processer, configured to; receive the mobile agent via its corresponding unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe; perform the function as indicated by the mobile agent; and send the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a next peer node of the plurality of peer nodes indicated by the itinerary. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A peer node, comprising:
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a processor; a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to; generate an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein, to generate an itinerary, the program instructions are executable by the processor to; discover over a peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate the peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents, wherein each peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; and generate the itinerary for the mobile agent from the discovered advertisements, wherein the itinerary indicates the plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network to be visited by the mobile agent, wherein the itinerary further indicates the corresponding peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for receiving the peer-to-peer mobile agent for each of the plurality of peer nodes, and wherein each peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary; generate the mobile agent, wherein the mobile agent indicates a function to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary; and send the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a first peer node on the itinerary; wherein the mobile agent is configured to visit each of the peer nodes indicated by the itinerary and perform said function on each visited peer node. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A peer node, comprising:
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a processor; a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to; receive a mobile agent according to an itinerary of the mobile agent, wherein the itinerary indicates a plurality of peer nodes in a peer-to-peer network including the peer node, wherein the itinerary further indicates a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different peer node on the itinerary, wherein the peer node is configured to receive the mobile agent at its corresponding unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe, and wherein the mobile agent includes a function configured to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; perform the function of the mobile agent; and send the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a next peer node indicated by the itinerary; wherein the peer node is configured to participate in a peer-to-peer environment with other peer nodes according to a peer-to-peer platform comprising one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols for enabling the peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, cooperate with each other to form peer groups, find and exchange codats, and send and receive mobile agents to and from other peer nodes in the peer-to-peer environment, wherein each of the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols is defined by one or more peer-to-peer platform protocol messages specific to the peer-to-peer platform protocol. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method, comprising:
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an initiating peer node in a peer-to-peer network generating an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein said generating an itinerary comprises; discovering over the peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents; and generating the itinerary from the discovered advertisements, wherein the generated itinerary includes a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes for receiving the mobile agent, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary; the initiating peer node sending the mobile agent including the itinerary indicating peer nodes to be visited by the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a peer node on the itinerary, wherein the mobile agent includes a function configured to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary; the peer node receiving the mobile agent via its corresponding unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe; performing the function of the mobile agent on the peer node; and the peer node sending the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a next peer node indicated by the itinerary. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method, comprising:
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an initiating peer node in a peer-to-peer network generating an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein said generating an itinerary comprises; discovering over the peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; and generating the itinerary for the mobile agent from the discovered advertisements, wherein the itinerary indicates the plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network to be visited by the mobile agent, and wherein the itinerary includes a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes for receiving the mobile agent, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary; the initiating peer node generating the mobile agent, wherein the mobile agent indicates a function to be performed on peer nodes indicated by the itinerary; and the initiating peer sending the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a first peer node on the itinerary; wherein the mobile agent is configured to visit each of the peer nodes indicated by the itinerary and perform said function on each visited peer node. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method for implementing mobile agents in a peer-to-peer network, comprising:
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a peer node in the peer-to-peer network receiving a mobile agent according to an itinerary of the mobile agent, wherein the itinerary indicates a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network including the peer node, wherein the itinerary further indicates a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different peer node on the itinerary, wherein the peer node is configured to receive the mobile agent at its unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe, and wherein the mobile agent includes a function configured to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; the peer node performing the function of the mobile agent; and the peer node sending the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a next peer node indicated by the itinerary; wherein peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network are configured to implement a peer-to-peer environment according to a peer-to-peer platform comprising one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols for enabling the peer nodes to discover each other, communicate with each other, cooperate with each other to form peer groups, find and exchange codats, and send and receive mobile agents in the peer-to-peer environment, wherein each of the one or more peer-to-peer platform protocols is defined by one or more peer-to- peer platform protocol messages specific to the peer-to-peer platform protocol. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A computer-accessible non-transitory storage medium, comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:
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an initiating peer node in a peer-to-peer network generating an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein, in said generating an itinerary, the program instructions are configured to implement; discovering over the peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; and generating the itinerary from the discovered advertisements, wherein the generated itinerary includes a list of unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipes for receiving the mobile agent, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary; the initiating peer node sending the mobile agent including the itinerary indicating peer nodes to be visited by the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile went input pipe corresponding to a peer node on the itinerary, wherein the mobile agent includes a function configured to be performed at each peer node indicated by the itinerary; the peer node receiving the mobile agent via its corresponding unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe; performing the function of the mobile agent on the peer node; and the peer node sending the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a next peer node indicated by the itinerary. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A computer-accessible non-transitory storage medium, comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:
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an initiating peer node in a peer-to-peer network generating an itinerary for a mobile agent, wherein, in said generating an itinerary, the program instructions are configured to implement; discovering over the peer-to-peer network an advertisement of a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each of a plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network, wherein the discovered advertisements each indicate a unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for each corresponding peer node that is configured to receive mobile agents, wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe is generated by its corresponding peer node; and generating the itinerary for the mobile agent from the discovered advertisements, wherein the itinerary indicates the plurality of peer nodes in the peer-to-peer network to be visited by the mobile agent, wherein the itinerary further indicates the corresponding unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe for receiving the mobile agent for each of the plurality of nodes, and wherein each unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponds to a different one of the peer nodes on the itinerary; the initiating peer node generating a mobile agent, wherein the mobile agent indicates a function to be performed on peer nodes indicated by the itinerary; and the initiating peer sending the mobile agent to the unidirectional peer-to-peer mobile agent input pipe corresponding to a first peer node on the itinerary; wherein the mobile agent is configured to visit each of the peer nodes indicated by the itinerary and perform said function on each visited peer node. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74)
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Specification