System and method for automatically verifying storage of redundant contents into communication equipments, by data comparison

• US 9,130,918 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2010
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Picconi, Fabio, Varvello, Matteo, Diot, Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehedi, Morshed
• Application Number:
  US13/497,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• Field of Search: 713/168
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks

Abstract

A method is intended for verifying storage of contents into communication equipments connected to at least one communication network. This method consists, when a first communication equipment stores a content and wants to verify that this content is still stored into a second communication equipment: i) in transmitting a first request, comprising at least an identifier of this content and first data representative of this content and requiring verification of the storage of this content into the second communication equipment, to an auxiliary communication equipment acting as an interface between the communication network and the second communication equipment, ii) in transmitting a second request, comprising at least the content identifier, to the second communication equipment, to require transmission of second data representative of the content to the auxiliary communication equipment, and in triggering a timeout having a chosen duration, and iii) if the auxiliary communication equipment has received the second data before expiration of this timeout, in comparing these received second data, possibly after having processed them, to the received first data, and in transmitting a message representative of the result of this comparison to the first communication equipment.

Claims

1. A method for verifying storage of content in communication equipment connected to at least one communication network, the method comprising:

i) receiving a first request at an auxiliary equipment acting as an interface between said communication network and a second communication equipment, said first request comprising at least an identifier of said content and first data representative of said content, and requesting verification of the storage of said content in said second communication equipment, said first request being transmitted from a first communication equipment

ii) transmitting a second request, comprising at least said content identifier, from the auxiliary communication equipment to said second communication equipment, to request transmission of second data representative of said content to said auxiliary communication equipment, and to trigger a timeout of a chosen duration, and

iii) in the case where said auxiliary communication equipment has received said second data before expiration of said timeout, comparing said received second data in the auxiliary communication equipment said to said received first data, and in the case where the second data is identical to the corresponding first data, then transmitting a message representative of the result of said comparison to said first communication equipment and indicating that the second equipment stores the content,

and in the case where the second data is not identical to the corresponding first data, then transmitting a message representative of the result of said comparison to said first communication equipment and indicating that the second equipment does not store the content.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, in the case where said auxiliary communication equipment has not received said second data before expiration of said timeout, transmitting a message to said first communication equipment and indicating that no verification was performed.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first request comprises first data arranged into data blocks of a chosen size and further comprises said chosen data block size, said second request further comprises said chosen data block size such that said second data be arranged into blocks of said chosen size, and said comparison is carried out on each data block of said chosen size.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said transmitted first data results from the application of a chosen cryptographic function to at least a chosen part of at least some primary data defining said content, and before proceeding to said comparison applying said chosen cryptographic function to said received second data to produce processed data and then comparing said processed data to said first data.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein said first request further comprises a value defining offsets between each first data block and a chosen data block acting as a reference, said second request further comprises said received offset values, and applying said chosen cryptographic function to said received second data, arranged into data blocks of said chosen size and which corresponds to said received offset values, to produce processed data blocks and then comparing said processed data blocks to said first data blocks.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein said chosen cryptographic function comprises a hash function.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said transmitted first data comprise at least some of primary data defining said content.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said timeout is chosen in order to be smaller than an estimation of the minimal time which would be necessary to said second communication equipment for downloading said content from a third communication equipment and then transmitting said downloaded content arranged into second data to said auxiliary communication equipment.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein said minimal time estimation depends on the type of the communication link between said second communication equipment and said auxiliary communication equipment and the type(s) of the communication link between said auxiliary communication equipment and said communication network.

16. Use of the method according to claim 1 in a peer-to-peer environment in which said communication equipment constitute peers.

10. A system for verifying storage of content into communication equipment connected to at least one communication network, wherein the system comprises:

i) an interrogator configured to, when a first communication equipment, with which the interrogator is associated, stores a content and wants to verify that the content is still stored into a second communication equipment, generate a first request, comprising at least an identifier of said content and first data representative of said content, said first request requesting verification of the storage of said content in said second communication equipment, and intended to be transmitted to an auxiliary communication equipment acting as an interface between said communication network and said second communication equipment, and

ii) a hardware processor configured to trigger a timeout having a chosen duration, when said auxiliary communication equipment, with which the processor is associated, has received said first request to generate a second request, intended to be transmitted to said second communication equipment, comprising at least said content identifier and requiring transmission of second data representative of said content to said auxiliary communication equipment, and

if said auxiliary communication equipment has received said second data before expiration of said timeout, to compare said received second data, to said received first data, and to generate a message representative of the result of said comparison and intended to be transmitted to said first communication equipment indicating if the auxiliary communication equipment stores the content.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein said interrogator is configured to generate the first request comprising first data arranged into data blocks of a chosen size and further comprising a chosen data block size, and said processor is further configured to generate a second request further comprising said chosen data block size in order said second data be arranged into blocks of said chosen size, and to proceed to perform comparison on each data block of said chosen size.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein said interrogator is further configured to generate the first request comprising first data resulting from application of a chosen cryptographic function to at least a chosen part of at least some of primary data defining said content, and said processor is further configured, before proceeding to said comparison, to apply said chosen cryptographic function to said received second data to produce processed data, and then to compare said processed data to said first data.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein said interrogator is further configured to generate the first request further comprising a value defining offsets between each first data block and a chosen data block acting as a reference, and said processor is further configured to generate the second request further comprising said received offset values, and to apply said chosen cryptographic function to said received second data, arranged into data blocks of said chosen size and corresponding to said received offset values, to produce processed data blocks, and then to compare said processed data blocks to said first data blocks.

14. The system according to claim 10, wherein said first data comprise at least some of primary data defining said content.

15. The system according to claim 10, wherein said processor is further configured to use a timeout which is chosen in order to be smaller than an estimation of the minimal time which would be necessary to said second communication equipment for downloading said content from a third communication equipment and then transmit said downloaded content arranged into second data to said auxiliary communication equipment.

17. A system for verifying storage of content in communication equipment connected to at least one communication network, the system comprising:

a hardware processor configured to trigger a timeout of a predetermined duration, when an auxiliary communication equipment connected to the at least one communication network and with which the processor is associated, has received a first request from a first communication equipment to verify content is still stored in a second communication equipment and to generate a second request;

wherein if said auxiliary communication equipment has received second data in response to said second request and before expiration of said timeout, the processor compares said received second data to received first data, and generates a message representative of the result of said comparison and intended to be transmitted to the first communication equipment indicating if the second communication equipment connected to the at least one communication network stores the content.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the first request comprises at least an identifier of said content and the first data being representative of said content and which requires verification of the storage of said content in said second communication equipment, said first request being intended to be transmitted to the auxiliary communication equipment acting as an interface between said communication network and said second communication equipment.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the second request, intended to be transmitted to said second communication equipment, comprises at least said content identifier and requiring transmission of second data representative of said content to said auxiliary communication equipment.

20. The system according to claim 17, wherein the first request comprises first data arranged into data blocks of a chosen size and further comprising a chosen data block size, and said processor is further configured to generate the second request comprising said chosen data block size such that said second data be arranged into blocks of said chosen size, and to perform comparison on each data block of said chosen size.

21. The system according to claim 17, wherein the first request comprises first data resulting from application of a chosen cryptographic function to at least a chosen part of at least some of primary data defining said content, and said processor is further configured, before proceeding to said comparison, to apply said chosen cryptographic function to said received second data to produce processed data, and then to compare said processed data to said first data.

22. The system according to claim 20, wherein the first request further comprises a value defining offsets between each first data block and a chosen data block acting as a reference, and said processor is further configured to generate the second request further comprising said received offset values, and to apply said chosen cryptographic function to said received second data, arranged into data blocks of said chosen size and corresponding to said received offset values, to produce processed data blocks, and then to compare said processed data blocks to said first data blocks.

23. The system according to claim 17, wherein said first data comprises at least some of primary data defining said content.

24. The system according to claim 17, wherein said processor is further configured to use the predetermined timeout which is chosen to be smaller than an estimation of the minimal time which would be necessary to said second communication equipment for downloading said content from a third communication equipment and then transmit said downloaded content arranged into said second data to said auxiliary communication equipment.