Peer-to-peer sharing of network resources

• US 9,451,650 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, University College Dublin
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, University College Dublin Belfield
• Inventors: Dunne, Jonathan, French, Paul B., Galvin, James P. Jr., Han, Yi, O'Sullivan, Patrick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US14/948,984
• Publication Number:
  US 20160088632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/452.1, 455/550.1, 455/452.2, 379/329
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1074 for supporting data block transmission mechanisms file transfer H04L67/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/51 based on terminal or device properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/563 of the wireless resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

A first mobile device receives, from each of a plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least a first network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device. The first mobile device also receives a request from a second mobile device to access the network resource provided by the first network shared by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices. The first mobile device selects at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device. The first mobile device communicates to the second mobile device peer-to-peer network connection information of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices.

Claims

1. A first mobile device, comprising:

a processor programmed to initiate executable operations comprising;

receiving, by the first mobile device, from each of a plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least a first network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device;

receiving, by the first mobile device, a request from a second mobile device to access the network resource provided by the first network shared by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device based on at least one parameter indicated by the first mobile device or at least one parameter indicated by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices; and

communicating, from the first mobile device to the second mobile device, peer-to-peer network connection information of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection information is configured to be processed by the second mobile device to establish a peer-to-peer communication link between the second mobile device and each of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via a second network and access the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via the peer-to-peer communication link.

2. The first mobile device of claim 1, the executable operations further comprising:

based on the at least one parameter indicated by at least one of the purity of other mobile devices, monitoring the data usage of the network resource of the first network by the at least one of the other mobile devices; and

based on the monitored data usage, adjusting a level of the network resource of the first network shared by the at least one of the other mobile devices.

3. The first mobile device of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one parameter indicated by the at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises a respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating a level of security reliability between the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices and the first network;

the executable operations further comprising;

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the level of security reliability between the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices and the first network;

wherein selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device comprises selecting the at least one of the other mobile devices based on the ranking of each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices.

4. The first mobile device of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one parameter indicated by the at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises a respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating an availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

the executable operations further comprising;

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

wherein selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device comprises selecting the at least one of the other mobile devices based on the ranking of each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices.

5. The first mobile device of claim 4, wherein:

the respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices indicates a level of bandwidth available to be shared; and

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises ranking each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the level of bandwidth available to be shared.

6. The first mobile device of claim 4, wherein:

the respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices indicates an amount of data usage available to be shared; and

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises ranking each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the amount of data usage available to be shared.

7. The first mobile device of claim 1, the executable operations further comprising:

assigning a priority to the second mobile device based on a level of sharing points assigned to the second mobile device; and

providing to the second mobile device a portion of the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices, the portion of the network resource determined based on the level of sharing points assigned to the second mobile device.

8. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

Receiving by a first mobile device comprising the processor, from each of a plurality of other mobile devices, information related to the availability of at least one network resource provided by at least a first network offered for sharing by the respective other mobile device;

receiving by the first mobile device a request from a second mobile device to access the network resource provided by the first network shared by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

selecting by the first mobile device at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device based on at least one parameter indicated by the first mobile device or at least one parameter indicated by at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices; and

communicating, from the first mobile device to the second mobile device, peer-to-peer network connection information of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection information is configured to be processed by the second mobile device to establish a peer-to-peer communication link between the second mobile device and each of the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via a second network and access the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices via the peer-to-peer communication link.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, the method further comprising:

based on the at least one parameter indicated by at least one of the purity of other mobile devices, monitoring the data usage of the network resource of the first network by the at least one of the other mobile devices; and

based on the monitored data usage, adjusting a level of the network resource of the first network shared by the at least one of the other mobile devices.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein:

the at least one parameter indicated by the at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises a respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating a level of security reliability between the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices and the first network;

the method further comprising;

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the level of security reliability between the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices and the first network;

wherein selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device comprises selecting the at least one of the other mobile devices based on the ranking of each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein:

the at least one parameter indicated by the at least one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises a respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating an availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

the method further comprising;

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices;

wherein selecting, by the first mobile device, at least one of the other mobile devices to share the network resource provided by the first network with the second mobile device comprises selecting the at least one of the other mobile devices based on the ranking of each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein:

the respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices indicates a level of bandwidth available to be shared; and

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises ranking each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the level of bandwidth available to be shared.

13. computer program product of claim 11, wherein:

the respective parameter, for each respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices, indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices indicates an amount of data usage available to be shared; and

ranking each of respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the respective parameter indicating the availability of the network resource of the first network shared by the respective one of the plurality of other mobile devices comprises ranking each of the respective ones of the plurality of other mobile devices based on the amount of data usage available to be shared.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, the method further comprising:

assigning a priority to the second mobile device based on a level of sharing points assigned to the second mobile device; and

providing to the second mobile device a portion of the network resource of the first network shared by the selected at least one of the other mobile devices, the portion of the network resource determined based on the level of sharing points assigned to the second mobile device.