Remote control of an application using dynamic-linked library (DLL) injection

• US 9,602,581 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2013
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Calgary Scientific Inc.
• Original Assignee: Calgary Scientific Inc.
• Inventors: Stephure, Matthew James, Thomas, Monroe M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pant, Ranjan
• Application Number:
  US13/783,287
• Publication Number:
  US 20130262566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,480 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/209 characterized by low level software layer, relating to hardware management, e.g. Operating System, Application Programming Interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing remote access to an application using Dynamic-Linked Library (DLL) injection. A server remote access application executes a connect application that receives an identifier of the application as an argument. The application may be a game, etc., to which remote access is provided to one or more client devices. The connect application injects a Remoting DLL into the address space of the application, where the Remoting DLL provides a mechanism to communicate with a server remote access application. The server remote access application establishes a communications session between a client application on the client device and the application. Instructions directed by the application to the client application are captured by the Remoting DLL and provided to server remote access application. Similarly, inputs from the client device are communicated to the server remote access application and captured by the Remoting DLL, and then communicated to the application.

Claims

1. A method of providing remote access to an application, comprising:

launching a server remote access application on a processor of a server computing device, the server remote access application being provided to proxy communication between the application and a client remote access application;

establishing a first connection between the server remote access application and a connect application;

passing arguments to the connect application that injects a remoting dynamic-linked library (remoting DLL) into an address space of the application;

closing the first connection with the connect application when the remoting DLL is injected into the application;

establishing a second communication connection between the server remote access application and the remoting DLL such that the server remote access application provides remote access to the application by communicating with the client remote access application; and

communicating a state model during a remote access session between the server remote access application and the client remote access application, the state model providing additional functionalities during the remote access session that do not directly involve the application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating with the server remote access program using a uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies a network location of the server remote access application.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

capturing, at the dynamic-linked library, drawing commands communicated by the application;

copying the drawing commands; and

communicating the drawing commands to the server remote access application.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

capturing, at the dynamic-linked library, input modules communicated by a client computing device that is in communication with the server remote access application; and

communicating the input modules to the application as input events.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

capturing, at the dynamic-linked library, audio data communicated by the application; and

providing the audio to the server remote access application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is a gaming application.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising ceasing communication between the connection application and the server remote access application after the remoting DLL is injected into the application.

8. A method of communicating rendering and/or audio information from a server-based application to the client computing device operating in a tiered infrastructure having a client tier, a server tier and an application tier, the method comprising:

executing a server remote access application within the server tier, the server remote access application being a proxy to communicate data between the application tier and the client tier;

establishing a first connection between the server remote access application and a connect application in the application tier;

passing arguments to the connect application that injects a remoting dynamic-linked library (remoting DLL) into an address space of the server-based application in the application tier;

closing the first connection with the connect application when the remoting DLL is injected into the server-based application in the application tier; and

establishing a second communication connection between the server remote access application and the remoting DLL;

generating data at the server-based application executing on a processor of a computing device executing in the application tier;

capturing the data using a Remoting DLL executing on the computing device in the application tier;

relaying the data using the Remoting DLL to the server remote access application;

formatting the data at the server remote access application;

communicating the data from the remote access application to a client remote access application executing in the client tier; and

communicating a state model from the server remote access application to client tier to provide additional functionalities that do not directly involve the server-based application during a remote access session between the client tier and the application tier.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising injecting the Remoting DLL into an address space of the server-based application.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data comprises a drawing instruction that is to be displayed by a user interaction application executing in the client tier.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the Remoting DLL consumes the drawing instruction.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating second data in the client tier;

communicating the second data to the server remote access application in the server tier;

formatting the second data at the server remote access application;

communicating formatted second data from the server remote access application to the Remoting DLL.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second data comprises an input received at the client computing device in the client tier.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the input comprises a mouse movement.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

consuming the formatted second data at the Remoting DLL; and

forwarding the formatted second data to the server-based application.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the formatted second data is received by the server-based application as an input event.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a computing device cause the processor to perform a method of providing remote access to an application, comprising:

launching a server remote access application on a processor of a server computing device, the server remote access application being provided to proxy communication between the application and a client remote access application;

establishing a first connection between the server remote access application and a connect application;

passing arguments to the connect application that injects a remoting dynamic-linked library (remoting DLL) into an address space of the application;

closing the first connection with the connect application when the remoting DLL is injected into the application;

establishing a second communication connection between the server remote access application—

and the remoting DLL such that the server remote access application provides remote access to the application by communicating with the client remote access application; and

communicating a state model during a remote access session between the server remote access application and the client remote access application, the state model providing additional functionalities during the remote access session that do not directly involve the application.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions for:

communicating with the server remote access program using a uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies a network location of the server remote access application.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions for:

capturing, at the dynamic-linked library, drawing commands communicated by the application;

copying the drawing commands;

communicating the drawing commands to the server remote access application;

capturing, at the dynamic-linked library, input modules communicated by a client computing device that is in communication with the server remote access application; and

communicating the input modules to the application as input events.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising ceasing communication between the connection application and the server remote access application after the remoting DLL is injected into the application.