System and method for notification within decentralized network

• US 8,161,094 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2004
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: White, Payton R., Bates, John P., Berkey, Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Kenny
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMARTH, GERALD A
• Application Number:
  US10/856,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20040249972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,882 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/243
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1065 Discovery involving distributed pre-established resource-based relationships among peers, e.g. based on distributed hash tables [DHT] pre-configuration of logical or physical connections H04L67/1053

Abstract

Methods are provided for event notification in a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) network. Each node within the P2P network can publish a subscription object for a published resource. Through the use of common identifiers, each subscription object is co-located with a corresponding publish object for the resource. Upon receiving notification of an event associated with the resource, the node responsible for the publish object for the resource distributes the event notification to each node present on the corresponding subscription registry. Therefore, nodes within the P2P network that are interested in a resource are capable of establishing a persistent query for the resource by publishing a subscription object for the resource on the responsible node.

Claims

1. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes, comprising:

a first node defined to produce a resource for publication across the decentralized network;

a second node defined to be responsible for a resource identifier for the resource produced by the first node, wherein the second node is defined to maintain a subscription registry for the resource that includes identifiers of nodes that are to receive the resource produced by the first node, and wherein the second node is defined to distribute the resource produced by the first node to each node having an identifier included within the subscription registry, such that the first node is not required to distribute the resource that it produces to nodes other than the second node; and

a third node defined to identify the second node as being responsible for the resource identifier, the third node being further defined to publish a subscription object for the resource,

wherein the second node responds to the subscription object by entering the third node on the subscription registry for the resource produced by the first node.

2. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein a hash value associated with the resource produced by the first node being within a hash value range assigned to the second node causes the second node to be responsible for the resource.

3. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein the first node is defined to identify the second node as being responsible for the resource identifier, the first node being further defined to transmit a publish object for the resource to the second node.

4. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 3, wherein the first node is defined to transmit publish objects for updates to the resource to the second node.

5. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 4, wherein the second node is defined to notify each node entered on the subscription registry for the resource of the update to the resource.

6. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein a hash value associated with the subscription object for the resource is equivalent to a hash value associated with the resource, inclusion of the hash value associated with the subscription object for the resource within a hash value range assigned to the second node causing the second node to be responsible for the subscription object.

7. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 6, wherein the third node is defined to transmit the subscription object to the second node due to the second node being responsible for the hash value range including the hash value associated with the subscription object.

8. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein the resource represents a data item.

9. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein the subscription object for the resource produced by the first node includes an internet protocol address of a node interested in the resource.

10. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 9, wherein the subscription object for the resource produced by the first node includes instructions specifying a frequency at which updates to the resource are to be transmitted to the internet protocol address of the node interested in the resource.

11. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein the subscription registry for the resource represents a compilation of published subscription objects for the resource.

12. A system for event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 1, wherein the decentralized network of interconnected nodes is defined as a peer-to-peer network.

13. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes, comprising:

producing a resource at a first node for publication across a decentralized network;

generating a hash value for the resource produced at the first node;

identifying a second node as being responsible for a hash value range bounding the hash value generated for the resource; and

assigning responsibility for the resource to the second node, whereby the second node is responsible for establishing and maintaining a subscription registry for the resource that includes identifiers of nodes that are to receive the resource produced by the first node, and whereby the second node is responsible for distributing the resource produced by the first node to each node having an identifier included within the subscription registry, such that the first node is not required to distribute the resource that it produces to nodes other than the second node.

14. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 13, wherein generating the hash value for the resource includes performing a hashing operation on a key associated with the resource.

15. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 13, wherein identifying the second node as being responsible for the hash value range bounding the hash value generated for the resource is performed using a distributed hash table defined for the decentralized network.

16. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 13, wherein responsibility for the resource includes storing a publish object for the resource and distributing notifications associated with the resource to nodes having expressed interest in the resource.

17. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 13, wherein establishing the subscription registry for the resource includes compiling subscription objects for the resource, the subscription objects being received from nodes across the decentralized network.

18. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 17, wherein each subscription object for the resource includes an internet protocol address of a node interested in the resource.

19. A method for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 13, wherein the resource a data item.

20. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes, comprising:

program instructions for producing a resource at a first node for publication across a decentralized network;

program instructions for generating a hash value for the resource produced at the first node;

program instructions for identifying a second node as being responsible for a hash value range bounding the hash value generated for the resource; and

program instructions for assigning responsibility for the resource to the second node, whereby the second node is responsible for establishing and maintaining a subscription registry for the resource that includes identifiers of nodes that are to receive the resource produced by the first node, and whereby the second node is responsible for distributing the resource produced by the first node to each node having an identifier included within the subscription registry, such that the first node is not required to distribute the resource that it produces to nodes other than the second node.

21. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 20, wherein the program instructions for generating the hash value for the resource includes program instruction for performing a hashing operation on a key associated with the resource.

22. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 20, wherein the program instructions for identifying the second node as being responsible for the hash value range bounding the hash value generated for the resource includes program instructions for using a distributed hash table defined for the decentralized network.

23. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 20, wherein responsibility for the resource includes storing a publish object for the resource and distributing notifications associated with the resource to nodes having expressed interest in the resource.

24. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 20, wherein the program instructions for establishing the subscription registry for the resource includes program instructions for compiling subscription objects for the resource, the subscription objects being received from nodes across the decentralized network.

25. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 24, wherein each subscription object for the resource includes an internet protocol address of a node interested in the resource.

26. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for establishing a subscription registry for a published resource in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 20, wherein the resource represents a data item.

27. A method for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes, comprising:

performing a hashing operation on a key that is uniquely associated with a resource, the hashing operation generating a hash value that is uniquely associated with the resource, wherein the resource is a data item;

publishing a subscription object for the resource at a node interested in the resource, the subscription object being assigned a hash value equivalent to the hash value associated with the resource, wherein the subscription object includes a reference to the node interested in the resource;

transmitting the subscription object from the node interested in the resource to a node responsible for the hash value associated with both the resource and the subscription object for the resource; and

operating the node responsible for the hash value associated with both the resource and subscription object for the resource to update a subscription registry for the resource to include information contained within the subscription object for the resource including the reference to the node interested in the resource.

28. A method for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 27, wherein the subscription object for the resource includes an internet protocol address of a node publishing the subscription object for the resource.

29. A method for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 28, wherein the subscription object for the resource includes instructions specifying a frequency at which updates to the resource are to be transmitted to the internet protocol address of the node publishing the subscription object for the resource.

30. A method for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 27, wherein the subscription registry for the resource represents a compilation of published subscription objects for the resource.

31. A method for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 27, further comprising:

operating the node responsible for the hash value associated with the resource to receive an update to the resource; and

operating the node responsible for the hash value associated with the resource to transmit the update to the resource to each node having subscription object information included in the subscription registry for the resource.

32. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes, comprising:

program instructions for performing a hashing operation on a key that is uniquely associated with a resource, the hashing operation generating a hash value that is uniquely associated with the resource, wherein the resource is a data item;

program instructions for publishing a subscription object for the resource at a node interested in the resource, the subscription object being assigned a hash value equivalent to the hash value associated with the resource, wherein the subscription object includes a reference to the node interested in the resource;

program instructions for transmitting the subscription object from the node interested in the resource to a node responsible for the hash value associated with both the resource and the subscription object for the resource; and

program instructions for operating the node responsible for the hash value associated with both the resource and subscription object for the resource to update a subscription registry for the resource to include information contained within the subscription object for the resource including the reference to the node interested in the resource.

33. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 32, wherein the subscription object for the resource includes an internet protocol address of a node publishing the subscription object for the resource.

34. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 33, wherein the subscription object for the resource includes instructions specifying a frequency at which updates to the resource are to be transmitted to the internet protocol address of the node publishing the subscription object for the resource.

35. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 33, wherein the subscription registry for the resource represents a compilation of published subscription objects for the resource.

36. A data storage device for storing data to be read by a computer system, the data storage device including program instructions for subscribing to a resource published within a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 32, further comprising:

program instructions for operating the node responsible for the hash value associated with the resource to receive an update to the resource; and

program instructions for operating the node responsible for the hash value associated with the resource to transmit the update to the resource to each node having subscription object information included in the subscription registry for the resource.

37. A computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory capable of storing program instructions to be executed by the processor, the program instructions including,

computer code for accepting responsibility for a resource having a uniquely associated hash value within a hash value range assigned to the computing device, wherein the resource is a data item,

computer code for establishing a subscription registry for the resource,

computer code for receiving subscription objects that are uniquely associated with the resource from other computing devices and recording the subscription objects in the subscription registry, wherein each subscription object includes a reference to a computing device from which it is transmitted, and

computer code for notifying computing devices having a recorded subscription object in the subscription registry of an event associated with the resource.

38. A computing device as recited in claim 37, wherein the computer code for accepting responsibility for the resource includes computer code for storing a publish object associated with the resource, computer code for receiving notifications associated with the resource, and computer code for distributing the resource and associated notifications to other computing devices.

39. A computing device as recited in claim 37, wherein the computer code for notifying computing devices of the event associated with the resource includes computer code for transmitting an update to the resource to the computing devices having the subscription object recorded in the subscription registry.

40. A computing device as recited in claim 37, wherein the subscription object includes an internet protocol address of a computing device subscribed to the resource.

41. A computing device as recited in claim 37, wherein the subscription registry for the resource represents a compilation of subscription objects for the resource.

42. A computing device as recited in claim 37, wherein the computing device is a game console.

43. A mechanism for providing event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes, comprising:

means for establishing a subscription registry for a resource published within the decentralized network, wherein the resource is a data item;

means for receiving a subscription object for the resource from a node within the decentralized network, wherein the subscription object is uniquely associated with the resource, and wherein the subscription object includes a reference to the node from which it is transmitted;

means for recording the subscription object in the subscription registry for the resource;

means for receiving an update to the resource; and

means for notifying each node having a subscription object recorded in the subscription registry for the resource of the update to the resource.

44. A mechanism for providing event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 43, wherein the subscription object for the resource includes an internet protocol address of a node publishing the subscription object for the resource.

45. A mechanism for providing event notification in a decentralized network of interconnected nodes as recited in claim 43, wherein the means for notifying each node of the update to the resource includes means for transmitting the update to the resource to each node having a subscription object recorded in the subscription registry for the resource.