Method for the construction and execution of a distributed workflow in a communication system

• US 8,209,213 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2006
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Risnen, Vilho
• Primary Examiner(s): MONFELDT, SARAH M
• Application Number:
  US11/449,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,209 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/7.26, 705/7.27
• US Class Current: 705/7.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/45 Exploiting coarse grain parallelism in compilation, i.e. parallelism between groups of instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4523 using lightweight directory access protocol [LDAP]

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for construction of a distributed workflow. A workflow specification comprising the invocation of a number of locatable functions is obtained. The workflow specification is divided into partitions based on the host nodes where the locatable functions are hosted. From the partitions are generated stub configuration rules for each host node, which implement the workflow execution in a given host node. The stub configuration rules are provided to the host nodes. The workflow is executed by exchanging messages between the host nodes along the lines of the original workflow. The workflow may be associated with implementation of a service or it may be for the purposes of network management.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a workflow specification comprising the invocation of at least one locatable function and identifiers for said at least one locatable function, wherein the obtaining occurs within a communication system comprising at least a stub configuration node and at least one host node;

determining said at least one locatable function from said workflow specification;

determining, for said at least one locatable function, at least one trigger condition;

finding one or more host nodes for said at least one locatable function based on an identifier for said locatable function;

causing, by a processor, said workflow specification to be partitioned into at least a first partition and a second partition, said first partition being associated with a given host node among said at least one host node, said given host node hosting at least one first locatable function invoked in said first partition, said at least one first locatable function being among said at least one locatable function;

generating at least a first stub configuration rule set from the first partition in said stub configuration node, wherein the stub configuration rule set includes processing rules for the at least one first locatable function, the processing rules including primitives for implementing messages passed between the at least one first locatable function and other functions from the workflow specification that are associated with other partitions; and

causing said first stub configuration rule set to be provided from said stub configuration node to a first host node among said at least one host node with which the first partition is associated.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving a workflow initiation message to an initiating host node; and

processing said workflow initiation message in an initial stub in said initiating host node.

3. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving a second message from a second host node in a third stub within a third host node;

selecting in said third host node the first locatable function to be invoked based on said second message and at least one first stub configuration rule among at least one second stub configuration rule set; and

causing to be output from said third host node a third message to a fourth stub within a fourth host node based on at least one second stub configuration rule among said at least one second stub configuration rule set, said at least one second stub configuration rule comprising at least one reference to at least one of a parameter value and a response from said first locatable function.

4. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

causing an event in a fifth stub within a fifth host node to be detected, said event comprising at least one of the receipt of a fourth message, receipt of a response from a second locatable function, expiration of a timer and a parameter having obtained a value; and

selecting, based on at least one third configuration rule among at least one third configuration rule set and said event, at least one of the output of a fifth message to a sixth host node, invocation of a third locatable function, providing a value for a second parameter and evaluation of a fourth configuration rule.

5. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

causing the identifier to be provided for a second locatable function among said at least one locatable function to a register node; and

said register node providing a host name or a host address for a host node hosting said second locatable function.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said register node comprises a domain name server.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said register node comprises a lightweight directory access protocol directory.

8. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

associating in said first host node a first stub with at least one fourth locatable function;

receiving in said first host node said first stub configuration rule set; and

associating at least one stub configuration rule within said first stub configuration rule set with said at least one fourth locatable function.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said host node comprises an Internet Protocol node.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said host node comprises a mobile station.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said host node comprises a wireless node.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said host node is associated with an industrial robot.

13. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, direct the apparatus to:

obtain a workflow specification comprising the invocation of at least one locatable function and identifiers for said at least one locatable function;

determine said at least one locatable function from said workflow specification;

determine for said at least one locatable function at least one trigger condition;

find one or more host nodes among at least one host node for said at least one locatable function based on an identifier for said locatable function;

cause said workflow to be partitioned into at least a first partition and a second partition, said first partition being associated with a given host node among said at least one host node, said given host node hosting at least one first locatable function invoked in said first partition, said at least one first locatable function being among said at least one locatable function;

generate at least a first stub configuration rule set from the first partition in said stub configuration node, wherein the stub configuration rule set includes processing rules for the at least one first locatable function, the processing rules including primitives for implementing messages passed between the at least one first locatable function and other functions from the workflow specification associated with other partitions; and

cause said first stub configuration rule set to be provided to a first host node among said at least one host node with which the first partition is associated.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the apparatus is included in a system, the system further comprising:

an initial host node among said at least one host node configured to receive a workflow initiation message to said initial host node and to process said workflow initiation message in an initial stub.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the apparatus is included in a system, the system further comprising:

a third host node configured to receive a second message from a second host node in a third stub, to select a first locatable function to be invoked based on said second message and at least one first stub configuration rule among at least one second stub configuration rule set and to output a third message to a fourth stub within a fourth host node based on at least one second stub configuration rule among said at least one second stub configuration rule set, said second stub configuration rule comprising at least one reference to at least one of a response parameter from said first locatable function.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the apparatus is included in a system, the system further comprising:

a fifth host node configured to detect an event in a fifth stub, said event comprising at least one of the receipt of a fourth message, receipt of a response from a second locatable function, expiration of a timer, and a parameter having obtained a value, and to select, based on at least one third configuration rule among at least one third configuration rule set and said event, at least one of the output of a fifth message to a sixth host node and invocation of a third locatable function.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the apparatus is further directed to cause the identifier for a second locatable function, among said at least one locatable function, to be provided to a register node, said register node being configured to provide a host name or a host address for a host node hosting said second locatable function.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said register node comprises a domain name server.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said register node comprises a lightweight directory access protocol directory.

20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein being directed to cause said first stub configuration rule set to be provided to the first host node includes said first host node being configured to associate a first stub with at least one fourth locatable function, to receive said first stub configuration rule set, and to associate at least one stub configuration rule within said first stub configuration rule set with said at least one fourth locatable function.

21. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said host node comprises an Internet Protocol node.

22. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said host node comprises a mobile station.

23. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said host node comprises a wireless node.

24. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said host node is configured to control an industrial robot.

25. An network node comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, direct the network node at least to:

obtain a workflow specification comprising the invocation of at least one locatable function and identifiers for said at least one locatable function;

determine said at least one locatable function from said workflow specification;

determine, for said at least one locatable function, at least one trigger condition;

find one or more host nodes among at least one host node for said at least one locatable function based on an identifier for said at least one locatable function;

cause said workflow to be partitioned into at least a first partition and a second partition, said first partition being associated with a given host node among said at least one host node, said given host node hosting at least one first locatable function invoked in said first partition, said at least one first locatable function being among said at least one locatable function;

generate at least a first stub configuration rule set from the first partition in said stub configuration node, wherein the stub configuration rule set includes processing rules for the at least one first locatable function, the processing rules including primitives for implementing messages passed between the at least one first locatable function and other functions from the workflow specification that are associated with other partitions; and

cause said first stub configuration rule set to be provided a first host node among said at least one host node with which the first partition is associated.

26. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, direct the apparatus at least to:

obtain at least one configuration rule set for a partition of a workflow from a stub configuration node, the partition being one of at least two partitions of the workflow, wherein the configuration rule set includes processing rules including primitives for implementing messages passed between a function of the partition and a function of another partition; and

detect an event, said event comprising at least one of the receipt of a first message, receipt of a response from a first locatable function, expiration of a timer, or a parameter having a value;

select, based on at least one configuration rule among said at least one configuration rule set and said event, at least one of the output of a second message to a second host node and invocation of a second locatable function.

27. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program comprising code configured to perform the following when executed on a data-processing system:

obtaining a workflow specification comprising the invocation of at least one locatable function and identifiers for said at least one locatable function;

determining said at least one locatable function from said workflow specification;

determining for said at least one locatable function at least one trigger condition;

finding one or more host nodes for said at least one locatable function based on an identifier for said locatable function;

causing said workflow to be partitioned into at least a first partition and a second partition, said first partition being associated with a host node, said host node hosting at least one first locatable function invoked in said first partition, said at least one first locatable function being among said at least one locatable function;

generating at least a first stub configuration rule set from the first partition, wherein the stub configuration rule set includes processing rules for the at least one first locatable function, the processing rules including primitives for implementing messages passed between the at least one first locatable function and other functions from the workflow specification that are associated with other partitions; and

causing said first stub configuration rule set to be provided to the host node with which the first partition is associated.

28. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 27, wherein said computer readable medium comprises a removable memory card.

29. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 27, wherein said computer readable medium comprises a magnetic or an optical disk.