Directing messages based on domain names

• US 8,874,668 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2011
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Eydelman, Vadim, Narayanan, Sankaran, Kumar, Namendra, Mehta, Bimal K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Taha, Shaq
• Application Number:
  US13/157,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20120317207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/69 using geographic information, e.g. room number
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4594 Address books, i.e. directories containing contact information about correspondents telephone directories in user terminals H04M1/27453
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A communication system has a plurality of collections. Each collection comprises a security boundary within which private data is accessible. Each collection is associated with a director. The directors receive messages that specify domains. When a director for a given collection receives a message, the director identifies one of the collections as being a home collection for the domain specified by the message. If the specified domain'"'"'s home collection is the given collection or another collection within a given privacy boundary, the director forwards the message to a server pool associated with the specified domain'"'"'s home collection. Otherwise, if the specified domain'"'"'s home collection is not within the given privacy boundary, the director forwards the message to the director of the specified domain'"'"'s home collection.

Claims

1. A method of routing messages, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first director, a first message from a first communication device, the first message comprising a request to perform a given action, the first message specifying a domain name, wherein the first local director is associated with at least one local collection within a first privacy boundary of a communication system;

identifying, by the first director, a given collection as being associated with the domain name;

determining whether the given collection is within the first privacy boundary, wherein when the given collection is within the first privacy boundary, the given collection has access to private data needed to direct the first message, and wherein when the given collection is outside the first privacy boundary, the given collection does not have access to the private data;

forwarding, by the first director, the first message to a second director of the given collection, in response to the given collection not being within the first privacy boundary; and

forwarding, by the second director, the first message to a server pool, wherein forwarding the first message to the server pool comprises;

identifying a first object associated with the given action from a plurality of objects associated with the given collection,

identifying the server pool associated with the first object, and

forwarding the first message to the identified server pool.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the given action comprises initiating a communication session between the first communication device and a second communication device, the second communication device associated with a receiving user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first message specifies a username of the receiving user, the username of the receiving user comprising a local name and the domain name.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the private data comprises an IP address of the second communication device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the given action comprises logging in to the communication system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein privacy regulations applicable in a region associated with the first privacy boundary prevent the private data from being disclosed outside the region.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message or a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

storing a mapping that contains entries that map domain names to collections; and

wherein identifying the given collection comprises identifying one of the entries that maps the domain name to the given collection.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

adding a new entry to the mapping after a new tenant is subscribed to the communication system, the new entry mapping a domain name associated with the new tenant to a collection in the communication system that stores private data regarding people associated with the new tenant.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first director is geographically closer to the first communication device than the second director in the communication system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of objects comprises a plurality of people objects, each of the plurality of people objects containing the private data regarding a first set of people.

12. A computing device comprising:

one or more computer-readable storage media that store instructions; and

one or more processing units, the one or more processing units executing the instructions, execution of the instructions by the one or more processing units causing the computing device provide a local director, the local director being associated with a local collection within a privacy boundary of a communication system, the local director causing the computing device to;

identify a given collection associated with a first domain of a first message, the first message specifying a name of the first domain;

determine whether the given collection is within the privacy boundary;

identify first server pool, in response to the given collection being within the privacy boundary, wherein the server pool is associated with the given collection, the server pool is configured to process the first message, wherein identifying the first server pool comprises;

identifying a first object associated with the first message from a plurality of objects associated with the given collection, and

identifying the first server pool associated with the first object; and

forward the first message to the first server pool.

13. The computing device of claim 12,

wherein the first message comprises a request to join a conference;

and

wherein the first server pool provides a focus for the conference.

14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the first server pool have access to private information that is not accessible to server pools outside the privacy boundary.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the private information comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a communication device associated with a given user.

16. The computing device of claim 12,

wherein the computing device receives the first message from a communication device associated with a first user;

and

wherein the local director further causes the computing device to forward a second message to a second server pool associated with the given collection within the privacy boundary after the local director receives the second message, the local director receiving the second message from a director of another collection within the communication system.

17. The computing device of claim 12,

wherein the computing device receives the first message from a communication device associated with a first user;

wherein the communication system has a plurality of users, each of the plurality of users having a home server pool, the plurality of users including a first set of users and a second set of users, the first set of users being associated with collections within a first privacy boundary, the second set of users being associated with the collections within a second privacy boundary of the communication system; and

wherein the local director further causes the computing device to identify the home server pool by accessing data that maps the first set of users to their home server pools, the local director not having access to data that maps the second set of users to their home server pools.

18. The computing device of claim 12,

wherein the computing device receives the first message from a communication device associated with a first user, the first message comprising a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) invitation to invite a second user to join a communication session with the first user, the first message specifying a username of the second user, the username of the second user comprising a local name of the second user and a name of the first domain;

wherein the local director does not have access to data that maps the second user to the server pool when the given collection and the local collection are not both within the privacy boundary; and

wherein the local director has access to data that maps the second user to the server pool when the given collection and the local collection are both within the privacy boundary.

19. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of server pools;

a first computing device that executes a first set of instructions, execution of the first set of instructions by the first computing device causing the first computing device to provide a first director, the first director associated with a first collection, the first collection being within a first privacy boundary, the first collection being associated with a first domain,

a second computing device that executes a second set of instructions, execution of the second set of instructions by the second computing device causing the second computing device to provide a second director, the second director associated with a second collection, the second collection being within a second privacy boundary, the second collection being associated with a second domain,

the second director receiving a first message from a first communication device, the first communication device associated with a first user, the first message comprising an invitation for a second user to join a communication session with the first user, the first message specifying a username of the second user, the username of the second user comprising a local name of the second user and a name of the second domain,

the second director using a mapping from domains to collections to identify the first collection as being associated with the first domain, the second director not having access to data that maps the second user to a home server pool of the second user, the second user'"'"'s home server pool being one of the plurality of server pools, wherein the plurality of server pools are associated with the first collection of the communication system;

the second director forwarding the first message to the first director after determining that the first collection is associated with the first domain;

the first director receiving the first message from the second director;

the first director identifying the second user'"'"'s home server pool by accessing data that maps users in the first collection to their home pools, wherein identifying the home server pool comprises;

identifying a first object associated with the first message from a plurality of objects associated with the first collection, and

identifying the home server pool associated with the first object; and

the first director forwarding the first message to the second user'"'"'s home pool.

20. The communication system of claim 19, wherein the second director receives a second message, the second message specifying a name of the second domain,

the second director using the mapping from domains to collections to identify the second collection as being associated with the second domain;

and

the second director forwarding the second message to one of the server pools.