Cross-platform support for a variety of media types

• US 8,799,512 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2005
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Alperin, Jordan, Cerami, Rich
• Primary Examiner(s): Rashid, Harunur
• Application Number:
  US11/255,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20070088850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,212 Days
• Field of Search: 709/230, 709/217, 709/236, 709/203, 709/146, 709/245, 709/246, 709/227, 455/414.4
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

Systems, methods, and machine-readable media are disclosed to provide cross-platform support for a variety of media types. In one embodiment, a method of providing cross-platform support for a variety of media types can comprise translating content provided by one or more servers from one or more media types to one or more common language messages. Each common language message can be one of a plurality of message types. Each message type can represent a different user-facing service provided by the server. The one or more common language messages can be sent to one or more end devices of one or more different device types. The common language messages can be translated to a format specific to one or more of the end devices based on the device type.

Claims

1. A system for providing cross-platform support for a variety of media types, the system comprising:

a plurality of servers, including at least one server providing content of one or more different media types and at least one server providing one or more services, the plurality of servers comprising an Internet Protocol television (“

IPTV”

) server and a billing server;

a plurality of managers, each manager communicatively coupled with one or more of the servers and translating content or services of the servers with which the manager is connected from the media types of the servers to one or more of a plurality of common language messages each of the plurality of common language messages related to one of the services of one of the servers with which the manager is connected;

a communications bus communicatively coupled with each of the managers and receiving and transporting the one or more common language messages from the managers; and

a plurality of end devices of different types, each end device communicatively coupled with the bus and receiving and translating the common language messages to a format specific to the end device based on the type; and

a system audit tool communicatively coupled with the bus and monitoring common language messages on the bus, the system audit tool comprising;

an audit tool database that maintains one or more logs of bus messages;

a bus message logger, communicatively coupled with the bus and the audit tool database, that records messages from the bus in the audit tool database; and

a heartbeat logger communicatively coupled with the bus and the audit tool database and recording heartbeat messages sent periodically on the bus from the one or more end devices and the one or more managers to indicate a normal status of the one or more end devices and the one or more managers;

wherein the plurality of managers comprises a first manager coupled with a first server and correlating a user'"'"'s request message to the first server with one or more missed heartbeats from the first server to identify a problem with the first server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the end devices generate one or more common language messages based on user input and send the one or more common language messages to one or more of the managers via the bus.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the managers receive the common language messages from the end devices via the bus and to translate the common language messages to content of the media types of the servers with which the manager is connected.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising an application framework interposed between the end devices and the communications bus and between the managers and the communications bus.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the application framework comprises:

a bus access layer, communicatively coupled with the bus, that sends and receives common language messages via the bus;

a correlation code generator, communicatively coupled with the bus access layer and one or more applications operating on one or more of the end devices, that generates a code correlating common language messages to or from the application;

an application bus access module, communicatively coupled with the bus access layer and the applications operating on one or more of the end devices, that adds the correlation code to the common language messages from the applications; and

a logger, communicatively coupled with the bus access layer and the applications operating on one or more of the end devices, that records messages sent to and from the application via the bus.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user profile database communicatively coupled with the bus and maintaining records of a set of user preferences for one or more of the end devices of the interface level.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the user profile database provides the preferences to one or more of the end devices or one or more of the managers in response to a common language message received via the bus.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the audit tool further comprises an alarm sender module that monitors the audit tool database and sends an alarm upon the detection of a trouble condition.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the audit tool further comprises one or more viewers communicatively coupled with the audit tool database and providing user access to the information of the audit tool database.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the common language messages comprise calls to an Application Program Interface (API).

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the common language messages comprise eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) files.

12. A communications architecture comprising:

a communications bus;

an application framework communicatively coupled with the bus;

a plurality of managers, each manager communicatively coupled with one or more servers and the application framework, wherein at least one server provides content of one or more different media types and at least one server provides one or more services, the plurality of servers comprising an IPTV server and a billing server, wherein the managers translate content of at least one of the servers with which the manager is connected from the media types of the at least one of the servers to one or more of a plurality of common language messages for transmission on the bus, wherein each of the plurality of common language messages is related to at least one of the one or more services of the servers with which the manager is connected;

one or more end devices of different types, each end device communicatively coupled with the application framework and receiving and translating the common language messages from the managers to a format specific to the end device based on the type; and

a system audit tool communicatively coupled with the bus and adapted to monitor common language messages on the bus, the system audit tool comprising;

an audit tool database that maintains one or more logs of bus messages;

a bus message logger, communicatively coupled with the bus and the audit tool database, that records messages from the bus in the audit tool database; and

a heartbeat logger, communicatively coupled with the bus and the audit tool database, that records heartbeat messages sent periodically on the bus from the one or more end devices and the one or more managers to indicate a normal status of the one or more end devices and the one or more managers;

wherein the plurality of managers comprises a first manager coupled with a first serve and correlating a user'"'"'s request message to the first server with one or more missed heartbeats from the first server to identify a problem with the first server.

13. The communications architecture of claim 12, wherein the application framework further comprises:

a bus access layer communicatively coupled with the bus and sending and receiving messages via the bus;

a correlation code generator, communicatively coupled with the bus access layer and one or more applications operating on the one or more end devices of the interface layer, that generates a code correlating messages to or from the application;

an application bus access module, communicatively coupled with the bus access layer and one or more applications operating on the one or more end devices of the interface layer, that adds the code to the message from the application and place the message on the bus via the bus access layer;

a logger, communicatively coupled with the bus access layer and one or more applications operating on the one or more end devices of the interface layer, that records messages sent to and from the application via the bus.

14. The communications architecture of claim 12, wherein the end devices generate one or more common language messages based on user input and send the one or more common language messages to one or more of the managers via the bus.

15. The communications architecture of claim 14, wherein the managers receive the common language messages from the end devices via the bus and translate the common language messages to content of the media type of the servers with which the manager is connected.

16. The communications architecture of claim 15, wherein the common language messages comprise a “

Make-a-Call”

request message indicating a request to initiate a communication.

17. The communications architecture of claim 16, wherein the common language messages comprise a “

Make-a-Call”

response message acknowledging initiation of a communication.

18. The communications architecture of claim 15, wherein the common language messages comprise a “

Call Information”

request indicating a request for information relating to a communication.

19. The communications architecture of claim 18, wherein the common language messages comprise a “

Call Information”

response providing requested information.

20. The communications architecture of claim 15, wherein the common language messages comprise a “

Call Event Notification”

message indicating the occurrence of a communication.

21. The communications architecture of claim 15, wherein the common language messages comprise a periodic “

Heartbeat”

message indicating a normal status.

22. The communications architecture of claim 15, wherein the common language messages comprise an “

Update Profile”

message indicating a change to one or more user defined preferences.

23. A method of providing cross-platform support for a variety of media types, the method comprising:

translating, with one or more managers, content provided by one or more servers from one or more media types to one or more common language messages, the one or more servers including at least one IPTV server and at least on billing server, wherein each common language message is one of a plurality of message types and each message type represents a different user-facing service provided by the server;

sending the one or more common language messages over a communication bus to one or more end devices of one or more different device types;

maintaining, in a database of a system audit tool, one or more logs of bus messages;

recording, with a bus message logger, messages from the bus in the database;

recording, with a heartbeat logger, heartbeat messages sent periodically on the bus from the one or more end devices and the one or more managers to indicate a normal status of the one or more end devices and the one or more managers; and

correlating, with a first manager coupled with a first server, a user'"'"'s request message to the first server with one or more missed heartbeats from the first server to identify a problem with the first server.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising translating the common language messages to a format specific to one or more of the end devices based on the device type.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

generating one or more common language messages with one of the end devices based on user input to the end device; and

sending the one or more common language messages based on user input from the end device to one or more of the servers.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising translating the common language messages based on user input to content of one or more of the media types.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

generating a code correlating the common language messages to one or more applications;

adding the correlation code to the common language messages; and

recording the common language messages.