Method and apparatus for implementing a sleep proxy for services on a network

• US 8,364,987 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2010
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Cheshire, Stuart D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elamin, M
• Application Number:
  US12/788,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100, 713/300, 713/310, 713320-324, 713/330, 713/340, 709/203, 709/224
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3284 Power saving in printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/00 Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for implementing a sleep proxy. The system starts by receiving a request at the sleep proxy for information pertaining to a service provided by a device. In response to this request, the system determines if the device is a member of a list of devices for which the sleep proxy takes action. If so, the system determines if the sleep proxy can answer the request. If so, the sleep proxy sends a response to the request on behalf of the device. In a variation on this embodiment, if the system cannot answer the request on behalf of the device, the system sends a wakeup packet to the device, wherein the wakeup packet causes the device to exit a power-saving mode so that the device can respond to the request directly.

Claims

1. A method for implementing a sleep proxy, comprising:

receiving a request at the sleep proxy for information pertaining to a service provided by a device;

when the device is a device for which the sleep proxy answers and when the request is a request for which the sleep proxy can answer,

monitoring for a response to the request from the device, if a response from the device is detected within a

predetermined time, ignoring the received request, otherwise, sending a response to the request on behalf of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if the request is not a request for which the sleep proxy can answer, the method further comprises sending a wakeup packet to the device, wherein the wakeup packet is a packet that causes the device to exit a power-saving mode.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving from the device, as the device enters a power-saving state, a specification of the wake-up packet that can be sent from the sleep proxy to the device to cause the device to transition out of the power-saving state into a state in which the device can respond to requests.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to receiving the request, the method comprises:

receiving a registration request from the device, wherein the registration request includes information about services that the device provides and a list of requests that the sleep proxy can answer for the device; and

adding the device to a list of devices for which the sleep proxy answers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the registration additionally contains a lease expiration time, wherein upon reaching the lease expiration time, the sleep proxy cancels the device registration.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the device renews the registration with the sleep proxy before the registration expires.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a notification from the device that the device has exited a power-saving state; and

in response to the notification, configuring the sleep proxy not to answer for the device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising implementing a second sleep proxy that duplicates the functionality of the sleep proxy for fault-tolerance purposes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending a response to the request further comprises waiting a random period of time prior to sending the response, wherein waiting the random period of time facilitates duplicate answer suppression between sleep proxies.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for implementing a sleep proxy, the method comprising:

receiving a request at the sleep proxy for information pertaining to a service provided by a device;

when the device is a device for which the sleep proxy answers and when the request is a request for which the sleep proxy can answer,

monitoring for a response to the request from the device, if a response from the device is detected within a

predetermined time, ignoring the received request, otherwise, sending a response to the request on behalf of the device.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein if the request is not a request for which the sleep proxy can answer, the method further comprises sending a wakeup packet to the device, wherein the wakeup packet is a packet that causes the device to exit a power-saving mode.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving from the device, as the device enters a power-saving state, a specification of the wake-up packet that can be sent from the sleep proxy to the device to cause the device to transition out of the power-saving state into a state in which the device can respond to requests.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein prior to receiving the request, the method comprises:

receiving a registration request from the device, wherein the registration request includes information about services that the device provides and a list of requests that the sleep proxy can answer for the device; and

adding the device to a list of devices for which the sleep proxy answers.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the registration additionally contains a lease expiration time, wherein upon reaching the lease expiration time, the sleep proxy cancels the device registration.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the device renews the registration with the sleep proxy before the registration expires.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a notification from the device that the device has exited a power-saving state; and

in response to the notification, configuring the sleep proxy not to answer for the device.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises implementing a second sleep proxy that duplicates the functionality of the sleep proxy for fault-tolerance purposes.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein sending a response to the request further comprises waiting a random period of time prior to sending the response, wherein waiting the random period of time facilitates duplicate answer suppression between sleep proxies.

19. An apparatus that implements a sleep proxy, comprising:

a receiving mechanism configured to receive a request for information pertaining to a service provided by a device;

a determination mechanism configured to determine if the device is a device for which the sleep proxy answers and if the request is a request that the sleep proxy can answer; and

a response mechanism configured to respond to requests on behalf of the device when the device is a device for which the sleep proxy answers and when the request is a request that the sleep proxy can answer;

wherein prior to sending a response to a request on behalf of the device, the response mechanism is configured to monitor for a response to the request from the device,

if a response from the device is detected within a predetermined time, the response mechanism is configured to ignore the received request,

otherwise, the response mechanism is configured to send a response to the request on behalf of the device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus further comprises a wakeup mechanism configured to send a wakeup packet to the device that causes the device to exit a power-saving mode if the request is not a request for which the sleep proxy can answer.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a registration mechanism configured to receive from the device, as the device enters a power-saving state, a specification of the wake-up packet that can be sent from the sleep proxy to the device to cause the device to transition out of the power-saving state into a state in which the device can respond to requests.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

a registration mechanism configured to receive a registration request from the device, wherein the registration request includes information about services that the device provides and a list of requests that the sleep proxy can answer for the device; and

a list addition mechanism configured to add the device to a list of devices for which the sleep proxy answers.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the registration additionally contains a lease expiration time, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a cancellation mechanism that is configured to cancel the device registration upon reaching the lease expiration time.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the device renews the registration with the sleep proxy before the registration expires.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

a notification mechanism configured to receive a notification from the device that the device has exited a power-saving state; and

a configuration mechanism configured to configure the sleep proxy not to answer for the device in response to the notification.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a second sleep proxy that duplicates the functionality of the sleep proxy for fault-tolerance purposes.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the response mechanism is further configured to wait a random period of time prior to sending the response, wherein waiting the random period of time facilitates duplicate answer suppression between sleep proxies.