Peer-to-peer service designer

• US 8,316,087 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2011
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qnext Corp.
• Original Assignee: Oren Asher
• Inventors: Asher, Oren
• Primary Examiner(s): CHRISTENSEN, SCOTT B
• Application Number:
  US13/064,630
• Publication Number:
  US 20110302257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1044 Group management mechanisms management of multicast group membership H04L12/185; reconfiguring of node membership in a computing system to eliminate errors G06F11/1425
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A peer-to-peer communication system, including a service manager for managing peer-to-peer services, a zone manager for managing zones, each zone including at least one peer-to-peer service and a window display layout therefor, and a privacy manager for restricting access to a zone, to a select group of users. A method is also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A peer-to-peer communication system, comprising:

a re-direct server executing server software and including a database including a plurality of system users and for each of said plurality of system users, a corresponding user ID, password, and network address for each corresponding user computer, wherein the re-direct server authenticates system users using the stored user IDs and passwords,

wherein the re-direct server comprises at least one processor for executing said server software and a memory device storing said server software;

a plurality of computer systems, including the corresponding user computers, interconnected with one another and the re-direct server via a communications network, each user computer executing peer-to-peer client software;

wherein said peer-to-peer client software enables a given user to select a group of users, the selected group stored in a list of friends of the given user;

wherein with said peer-to-peer client software said given user arbitrarily defines a plurality of zones, each zone comprising one or more functionally different peer-to-peer communication services displayed within a container window,

wherein arbitrarily defining the plurality of zones comprises;

selecting, by the given user, a name for each of the plurality of zones, presenting to the given user a listing of a plurality of functionally different peer-to-peer services, the listing including interactive peer-to-peer services,

selecting, by the given user, one or more functionally different peer-to-peer communication services from the presented listing of functionally different peer-to-peer services,

selecting, from the list of friends of the given user, one or more other users allowed to have access to each of the plurality of zones,

wherein each of the selected name, selected peer-to-peer services, and allowed users are maintained as a definition for the zone;

said peer-to-peer client software executed by a plurality of user computers is further configured to;

activate concurrently one or more defined zones that the corresponding user is authorized to access by displaying the container window representing each of the one or more defined zones,

for each activated zone, activating the one or more selected communication services corresponding to the activated zone, wherein the communication services enable the corresponding user to communicate with the given user,

restrict access to each zone to the selected users authorized to have access to each zone, and

maintain the definition of each zone, even when the zone is not active.

2. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 1, wherein the interactive peer-to-peer services includes at least one of:

a group chat service, a video conference service, and a game service.

3. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 2, wherein said peer-to-peer client software enables the given user to set properties for each said zone by pre-designating the data to be utilized by the at least one peer-to-peer service associated with the zone.

4. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 1, wherein using said peer-to-peer client software the given user edits zone definitions after a zone has been defined, including at least one of:

(i) renaming the zone name and

(ii) changing the friends of the given user entitled to access the zone.

5. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 1, wherein each zone is associated with a container window and each peer-to-peer communication service is associated with a graphical user interface displayed in a container window, said peer-to-peer client software displaying the container window for each activated zone and within that container window the graphical user interfaces for all peer-to-peer services in the activated zone.

6. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 5, wherein using said peer-to-peer client software the given user graphically lays out the peer-to-peer services within a container window representing the zone.

7. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 2, wherein said peer-to-peer services includes a photo-sharing service which provides a user interface display for creating a digital photo album for sharing, including displaying image thumbnails within a directory selected in a directory browser and enabling a user to drag thumbnails of images from several directories, dropping and displaying the thumbnails into a designated user photo album for sharing.

8. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 1, wherein using said peer-to-peer client software the given user opens a live content display interface, indicating to the given user which of said other peer-to-peer users are on-line and offline, and listing the zones of other online users the given user may access.

9. A method of building a peer-to-peer application in a peer-to-peer communication system, the peer-to-peer communication system comprising a server and a plurality of client computers interconnected via a communications network, the method comprising:

registering individual users with the server;

storing, by the server, a user ID and password for each of the registered users;

selecting, by a given individual user, a group of one or more other users, to be designated as friends;

arbitrarily defining, by said given individual user, a plurality of zones, said arbitrarily defining comprising;

selecting, by the given individual user, a name for each of the plurality of zones, presenting to the given individual user a listing of a plurality of functionally different peer-to-peer services, the listing including interactive peer-to-peer services,

selecting, by the given individual user, one or more functionally different peer-to-peer communication services from the presented listing of functionally different peer-to-peer services, and

selecting, from the list of friends of the given individual user, one or more other users allowed to have access to each of the plurality of zones,

wherein each of the selected name, selected peer-to-peer services, and allowed users are maintained as a definition for the zone;

concurrently activating, for another individual user, one or more defined zones for which the other individual user is authorized to access;

activating, for each activated defined zone, the one or more peer-to-peer communications services selected for the activated defined zone;

restricting access to each defined zone to the selected users allowed to have access to the defined zone; and

maintaining the definition of each zone, even when the zone is not active.

10. A peer-to-peer communication method according to claim 9, wherein the peer-to-peer services includes a file exchange service, a photo sharing service, a video conference service, and a private e-mail service.

11. A peer-to-peer communication system according to claim 9, wherein the individual user sets properties for each zone by pre-designating the data to be utilized by the at least one peer-to-peer service associated with the zone.