Method and system for data management in communication networks

• US 8,165,130 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2007
• Issued: 04/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Manzalini, Antonio, Alfano, Rosario
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, ANDREW CHUNG CHEUNG
• Application Number:
  US12/452,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20100128731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 370/225, 370/252, 370/253, 370/254, 370/255, 370/256, 370/257, 370/258, 370/328, 370/329, 370/338, 370/400, 370/401, 370/449, 370/395.1, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 370/395.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1059 Inter-group management mechanisms, e.g. splitting, merging or interconnection of groups
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1068 Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers

Abstract

A method for operating a node of a communication network including a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, the node being linked with predetermined neighbor nodes among the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, includes: a) storing, on a first storage area, node information indicative of predetermined data required by the node to become an information provider node; b) waiting to receive from at least one information provider node of the neighbor nodes describing information of data that can be provided by the information provider node; c) at the receipt of the describing information from the at least one information provider node, checking in the first storage area if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least in part the predetermined data required by the node; d) in the affirmative, deleting in the first storage area the node information indicative of the matching data; and e) in the negative, forwarding the describing information received in c) to at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

Claims

1. A method for operating a node of a communication network comprising a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, the node being linked with predetermined neighbour nodes among the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, comprising:

storing, in a first storage area, information indicative of predetermined data required by the node to become an information provider node;

receiving from at least one information provider node, descriptive information of data that can be provided by the information provider node;

checking based on the received descriptive information of the data and the information stored in the first storage area if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least a part of the predetermined data required by the node;

deleting from the first storage area information indicative of the matching part of the predetermined data, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the node; and

forwarding the received descriptive information of the data to at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node does not match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the node.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving from at least one requiring node, neighbour information indicative of predetermined data required by the at least one requiring node to become an information provider node.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising storing the received neighbour information in a second storage area.

4. The method according to claim 3, at the receipt of the descriptive information of the data from the at least one information provider node and before forwarding the received descriptive information, the method further comprising checking in the second storage area if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least a part of the predetermined data required by the requiring node.

5. The method according to claim 4, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the requiring node, the method further comprising deleting in the second storage area, the neighbour information indicative of the matching part of the predetermined data and sending the received descriptive information of the data to the requiring node.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising requesting the at least one information provider node to establish a link with the requiring node.

7. The method according to claim 4, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node do not match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the requiring node, the method further comprising forwarding the received descriptive information of the data to at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes to which the received descriptive information of the data is forwarded, is a node different from the predetermined neighbour nodes.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the forwarding of the received descriptive information of the data further comprises requesting the at least one information provider node to establish a link with the at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes to which the received descriptive information of the data is forwarded.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the forwarding of the received descriptive information of the data further comprises requesting the at least one information provider node to eliminate its link with the node.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the forwarding of the received descriptive information of the data further comprises eliminating a link of the node with the at least one information provider node.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the forwarding of the received descriptive information of the data further comprises linking the node with the at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes to which the received descriptive information of the data is forwarded.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing of the information indicative of the predetermined data required by the node further comprises sending to the plurality of predetermined neighbour nodes, the information indicative of the predetermined data required by the node.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the deleting of the information indicative of the matching part of the predetermined data from the first storage area further comprises notifying the plurality of neighbour nodes about the matching part of the predetermined data.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deleting of the information indicative of the matching part of the predetermined data from the first storage area further comprises checking in the first storage area if all the predetermined data required by the node to become an information provider node are matched.

16. The method according to claim 15, if all the predetermined data required by the node to become an information provider node are matched, the method further comprising changing the node to be a new information provider node capable of providing the predetermined data.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising sending to at least part of the neighbour nodes, descriptive information of the predetermined data that can be provided by the node.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the descriptive information of the predetermined data that can be provided by the node is sent to the neighbour nodes other than information provider nodes.

19. The method according to claim 15, if not all the predetermined data required by the node to become an information provider node are matched, the method further comprising waiting to receive the descriptive information of the data from the information provider node.

20. The method according to claim 16, when information indicative of predetermined data required by a requiring node is received, the method further comprising sending to the requiring node descriptive information of the data that can be provided by the node.

21. The method according to claim 16, when at least part of the predetermined data required by the node to become an information provider node fail, the method further comprising returning to the execution of storing the information indicative of the predetermined data.

22. The method according to claim 16, when a request is received to link the node with one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, the method further comprising creating a link with the peer-to-peer node and sending the descriptive information of the data that can be provided by the node to the newly linked peer-to-peer node.

23. The method according to claim 16, when descriptive information of data that can be provided by an information provider node is received, the method further comprising eliminating the link with said information provider node.

24. A node of a communication network comprising a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, the node comprising:

a first storage area configured to store information indicative of predetermined data required by the node; and

a processor configured to;

receive from at least one information provider node descriptive information of data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node;

check based on the received descriptive information of the data and the information stored in the first storage area if data that can be provided by said at least one information provider node match at least a part of the predetermined data required by the node;

delete from the first storage area, information indicative of the matching part of the predetermined data, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the node; and

forward the received descriptive information of the data to at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node does not match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the node.

25. A communication network comprising:

a plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, each node being linked to a predetermined set of neighbour nodes,

the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes comprising;

at least one information provider node configured to store data to be provided to other nodes within the communication network and to transmit descriptive information of the data that the at least one information provider node can provide to other nodes;

at least a node seeking to become another information provider node, the node comprising;

a first storage area configured to store information indicative of predetermined data required by the node;

a processor configured to;

receive from the at least one information provider node the descriptive information of the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node;

check based on the received descriptive information of the data and the information stored in the first storage area if the data that can be provided by said at least one information provider node match at least a part of the predetermined data required by the node;

delete from the first storage area the information indicative of the matching part of the predetermined data, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the node; and

forward the received descriptive information of the data to at least one of the plurality of peer-to-peer nodes, if the data that can be provided by the at least one information provider node does not match at least the part of the predetermined data required by the node.