Distributed means of organizing an arbitrarily large number of computers

• US 8,145,795 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2010
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Russell Fish
• Original Assignee: Russell Fish
• Inventors: Fish, Russell
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN, FRANTZ B
• Application Number:
  US12/703,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20120005375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 742 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/203, 709/208, 709/220, 709/250, 700/9, 700/19, 700/28, 718/100
• US Class Current: 709/250
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A technique for organizing a plurality of computers such that message broadcast, content searching, and computer identification of the entire collection or a subset of the entire collection may be performed quickly without the use of a controlling computer. The technique describes the creation, operation, and maintenance of a connection scheme by which each computer in the collection appears to be the top level of a hierarchical array. The maintenance of this hierarchical connection scheme allows one to many communications throughout the collection of computers to scale geometrically rather than linearly.

Claims

1. A distributed computer network comprising:

a collection of computers logically arranged such that a first computer of the collection of computers is situated at a logical center of the collection of computers, wherein a plurality of computers from the collection of computers form a series of concentric polygons around the first computer; and

wherein each computer in the collection of computers can interchangeably operate as a top computer in a hierarchy of computers based on the transmission of a message, said hierarchy including at least a subset of the collection of computers by;

the top computer sending the message along each of a set of direct radials, each direct radial comprising a line of logically adjacent computers in the collection of computers that logically extends radially from said top computer; and

at least one lower level computer, of the collection of computers, located on one of the set of direct radials further forwarding the message along an indirect radial of a set of indirect radials, each indirect radial comprising a line of logically adjacent computers in the collection of computers that logically extends radially from said at least one lower level computer but does not logically intersect any of the direct radials in the set of direct radials.

2. The distributed computer network of claim 1 wherein each computer in the collection of computers not located on an outermost edge of the collection of computers has a set of radials extending therefrom equal in number to the number of sides of each of the concentric polygons in the series of concentric polygons.

3. The distributed computer network of claim 1, wherein each computer in the collection of computers is programmed to shift position in the series of concentric polygons to a first position closer to the first computer when the first position is not occupied and further is programmed to shift position in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, to a second position when the second position is not occupied.

4. The distributed computer network of claim 3, wherein each computer in the collection of computers is further programmed to prevent a set of neighboring computers from shifting positions.

5. The distributed computer network of claim 1 wherein each computer in the collection of computers is further programmed to store information relating to each of a plurality of subordinate computers logically connected to and located around the respective computer.

6. The distributed computer network of claim 5 wherein a top computer in the collection of computers is programmed to initiate a search for a set of content on the plurality of subordinate computers by sending the message.

7. The distributed computer network of claim 1 wherein the message is selected from the group consisting of broadcast data, a search parameter, and update information.

8. The distributed computer network of claim 1 wherein, other than the top computer, each computer in the collection of computers on a direct radial forwards the message to two other computers and each computer in the collection of computers not on a direct radial forwards the message to one other computer.

9. The distributed computer network of claim 8 wherein each of the computers in the collection of computers is forwarded the message only once.

10. A method for logically configuring a collection of computers, comprising:

selecting a first computer from the collection of computers to serve as a logical center of the collection of computers;

selecting a second computer from the collection of computers to serve as a top computer in the collection of computers;

adding computers to the collection of computers to logically configure the computers into a plurality of concentric polygons, wherein each added computer operates to;

find a computer in the collection of computers;

follow one of a radial and an indirect radial that includes the found computer to a collection edge, said radial comprising a series of logically adjacent radial computers that logically extend from the logical center, and said indirect radial comprising a series of logically adjacent computers that logically extend from one of the radial computers, forming a concentric set of logical levels, wherein the collection edge comprises a logically outermost computer on said one of the radial and the indirect radial; and

logically attach to a computer in the collection of computers on the collection edge.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of moving each added computer to a first neighboring logical position that is logically closer to the logical center of the collection of computers if the first neighboring logical position is not occupied.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of rotating each added computer to a second neighboring logical position on the same concentric logical level as the added computer if the second neighboring logical position is not occupied.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of rotating comprises rotating in a preselected one of a clockwise and a counterclockwise direction.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of preventing other computers from moving into the first neighboring logical position and from moving into the second neighboring logical position during said steps of moving and rotating.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of concentric polygons has the same number of sides and has an even number of sides.

16. A method for logically configuring a collection of computers, comprising:

selecting a computer to serve as a logical center of the collection of computers;

selecting a computer to serve as a top computer in the collection of computers;

arranging computers from the collection of computers such that the collection of computers is logically configured to form a set of successively higher concentric polygon levels around the logical center;

adding a computer to the collection of computers;

logically connecting the added computer to a computer in the collection of computers in a logical position, located at a collection edge, wherein the collection edge comprises a logical outer edge of the collection of computers and forms a concentric polygon level around the plurality of concentric polygon levels; and

repeating the steps of;

changing the logical location of the added computer to a next lower concentric polygon level if a computer in the collection of computers is not situated at a logical position that neighbors the added computer at the next lower concentric polygon level; and

changing the logical location of the added computer to a logically adjacent position on a current concentric polygon level of the added computer if a computer in the collection of computers is not situated at said logically adjacent position.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of sending a message from the top computer of the collection of computers to each of a plurality of neighboring radial computers, each neighboring radial computer forwarding the message to another neighboring radial computer and to a neighboring indirect radial computer, such that the message is forwarded to each computer in the collection of computers only once.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the collection of computers comprises one of a collection of caching computers and a collection of non-caching computers, wherein each caching computer stores information relating to a corresponding collection of caching computers.

19. A computer network, comprising:

a collection of caching computers logically arranged such that a first caching computer is situated at a logical center of the collection of caching computers, wherein the remaining caching computers are logically arranged to form at least one concentric polygon around the first caching computer;

at least one collection of non-caching computers, each respective collection of non-caching computers logically arranged to form a plurality of successively higher concentric polygon levels around a respective caching computer that stores information relating to the respective collection of non-caching computers;

at least one communication medium providing a physical interconnection between the caching computers in the collection of caching computers and the non-caching computers in the at least one collection of non-caching computers, said physical interconnection unrelated to said logical arrangements; and

at least one of the collection of caching computers and the at least one of the collection of non-caching computers logically arranged such that a message originating at a top computer is forwarded along each of at least one radial, each said radial comprising a line of logically adjacent computers that logically extends radially from the top computer, and wherein a plurality of computers forming the radial further forward the message along an indirect radial, each said indirect radial comprising a line of logically adjacent computers that logically extends radially from a corresponding one of the plurality of computers and that does not intersect any of the at least one radial.

20. The computer network of claim 19, wherein each caching computer operates to determine whether its available bandwidth is greater than an available bandwidth of a logically adjacent caching computer logically closer to the first caching computer and to switch positions with the logically adjacent caching computer when the available bandwidth of the caching computer is greater than the available bandwidth of the logically adjacent caching computer.

21. The computer network of claim 20, further comprising at least one added non-caching computer, wherein the added non-caching computer logically attaches to a collection of non-caching computers associated with a caching computer currently situated at the logical center of the collection of caching computers.

22. The computer network of claim 19, wherein the information relating to the respective collection of non-caching computers comprises an index of data stored on the respective collection of non-caching computers.

23. The computer network of claim 19, further comprising at least one added computer, wherein the at least one added computer is assigned as one of a caching computer and a non-caching computer based on an available bandwidth of the at least one added computer.

24. The computer network of claim 19, wherein the message comprises one of broadcast information and search request data.