Message send queue reordering based on priority

• US 8,307,051 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2011
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Tapuska, David, Knowles, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): STRANGE, AARON N
• Application Number:
  US13/272,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20120036230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 390 Days
• Field of Search: 709/207, 709/219, 709/232, 709/240, 370/229, 370/230, 370/235, 718/103
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A method and system for communicating serialized data provides a mechanism for ordering the data in response to a priority. In an embodiment, a server sending the data uses the priority to order the data in a message send queue for sending the data to a requesting device. The server may comprise a gateway and the second device a wireless device communicating with the gateway. The wireless device may send a priority indication in association with a request for the data to facilitate the ordering.

Claims

1. A method, in a system comprising a wireless communication device and a server, of ordering response data, the response data being received in the wireless communication device from the server, the method comprising the steps of:

at the wireless communication device, sending a first request for first response data to the server;

at the server, placing first response data in a send queue of a serial communication connection established between the wireless communication device and the server, and transmitting a first portion of the first response data to the wireless communication device;

at the wireless communication device, after sending the first request, sending a second request for second response data to the server, the second request being sent with a respective relative priority that is higher than a priority of the first request; and

at the server, placing second response data ahead of at least a remaining second portion of the first response data in the send queue of the serial communication connection.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at the wireless communication device, before sending the second request, serially receiving, via the communication connection, the first portion of the first response data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, at the wireless communication device:

processing the first portion of the first response data prior to receiving the second response data;

after receiving the second response data, processing the second response data ahead of the remaining second portion of the first response data; and

after receiving the remaining second portion of the first response data, completing processing of the remaining second portion of the first response data once processing of the second response data is completed.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at the wireless communication device, after sending the second request, sending a third request for third response data to said server from the wireless communication device;

said third request being sent with a respective relative priority that is higher than the priority of the second request; and

at the server, placing the third response in the send queue of the serial communication connection ahead of at least a portion of the second response data.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

at the wireless communication device, before sending the third request, serially receiving, via the communication connection, a first portion of the second response data; and

wherein the third response data is placed in the send queue ahead of at least a remaining second portion of the second response data.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising, at the wireless communication device:

processing the first portion of the second response data prior to receiving the third response data;

after receiving the third response data, processing the third response data ahead of the remaining second portion of the second response data; and

after receiving the remaining second portion of the second response data, completing processing of the remaining second portion of the second response data once processing of the third response data is completed.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the wireless communication device, periodically receiving portions of the first response data ahead of portions of the second response data at the wireless communication device and processing said periodically received portions of the first response data in order to avoid timing out of a connection between the server and the wireless communication device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device assigns a priority indication to any request determined to require an immediate response.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the wireless communication device assigns to each subsequent request determined to require an immediate response a priority indication comprising an incremented value of a last such request.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the wireless communication device sends the priority indication in a header portion of the request.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the respective relative priority comprises evaluating a first portion of the first response data to determine the second request having a higher priority than the first request and defining the priority of the second request as having higher priority relative to the first request.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising suspending processing of said first response data at the wireless communication device until processing of the second response data is complete.

13. A system for ordering response data, the system comprising a wireless communication device communicating serially with a server via a communication connection established between the wireless communication device and the server, the communication connection having a send queue for serially transmitting data, wherein the wireless communication device comprises a processor configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

send a first request for first response data to said server; and

after the first request has been sent, send a second request for second response data to said server, said second request being sent with a respective relative priority that is higher than a priority of the first request;

wherein the server comprises a processor configured to execute instructions to cause the server to;

place first response data in the send queue of the communication connection, and transmit a first portion of the first response data to the wireless communication device; and

place the second response data in the send queue of the communication connection ahead of at least a remaining second portion of the first response data.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

before sending the second request, serially receive, via the communication connection, the first portion of the first response data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

process the first portion of the first response data prior to receiving the second response data;

after receiving the second response data, process the second response data ahead of the remaining second portion of the first response data; and

after receiving the remaining second portion of the first response data, complete processing of the remaining second portion of the first response data once processing of the second response data is completed.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

after the second request has been sent, send a third request for third response data to said server from the wireless device; and

said third request being sent with a respective relative priority that is higher than the priority of the second request;

wherein the processor of the server is further configured to execute instructions to cause the server to;

the third response data at said wireless device, place the third response data in the send queue of the communication connection ahead of at least a portion of the second response data.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

before sending the third request, serially receive, via the communication connection, a first portion of the second response data; and

wherein the third response data is placed in the send queue ahead of at least a remaining second portion of the second response data.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

process the first portion of the second response data prior to receiving the third response data;

after receiving the third response data, process the third response data ahead of the remaining second portion of the second response data; and

after receiving the remaining second portion of the second response data, complete processing of the remaining second portion of the second response data once processing of the third response data is completed.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to send a priority indication in association with a request for particular response data for any request determined to require an immediate response.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to increment the value of a priority indication for each subsequent request determined to require an immediate response.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured execute instructions to cause the wireless communication to send the priority indication in a header portion of the request.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device is further configured execute instructions to cause the wireless communication to determine the priority of one set of response data relative to any other response data.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the processor of the wireless communication device, in order to determine the priority, is further configured to execute instructions to cause the wireless communication device to:

evaluate a first portion of the first response data to determine the second request having a higher priority than the first request; and

define the priority indication of the second request as having higher priority relative to the first request.