System, method and computer program product for connecting roaming mobile devices to a virtual device platform

• US 9,622,068 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2016
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hypori LLC
• Original Assignee: Hypori Inc.
• Inventors: Mijar, Sanjay, Achanta, Phani, Vetter, Brian J., Marston, Justin P.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US15/181,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20160295394A1
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 4554321, 4554565, 455518, 4555501, 455418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/065 involving selection of the user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/00 Network topologies

Abstract

Systems, methods and computer program products that enable efficient roaming of virtual mobile devices. In one embodiment, multiple PoP locations having a set of common master images are maintained. A communication from a mobile device received at a central facility identifies a user, a location and a type of the mobile device. The central facility determines performance measures for the PoP locations and identifies a preferred PoP location in response to the communication. If the preferred PoP location has available capacity, the central facility directs the preferred PoP location to provision resources and instantiate a virtual device from a selected master image corresponding to the mobile device. If the preferred PoP location persistently stores a user data volume for the user, the virtual device is attached to the stored user data volume. Otherwise, data is transferred from the user'"'"'s data volume to a cache attached to the virtual device.

Claims

1. A method for enabling efficient roaming of mobile devices, the method comprising:

receiving, over a network by a master control facility embodied on non-transitory computer memory, a communication from a mobile device that identifies at least a type of the mobile device, the mobile device associated with a user, the master control facility communicatively connected to multiple point-of-presence (PoP) servers at multiple different physical locations;

determining, by the master control facility, a preferred PoP server of the multiple PoP servers that best serves an area where the mobile device is in;

directing, by the master control facility, the preferred PoP server to instantiate a virtual device that matches the type of the mobile device; and

communicating, by the master control facility, a message to the mobile device, the message indicating to the mobile device that the mobile device is to connect to the preferred PoP server of the multiple PoP servers for communicating with the virtual device instantiated by the preferred PoP server, wherein at least a portion of user data persistently stored on a home PoP server associated with the user is transmitted to a transient storage on the preferred PoP server.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual device is instantiated by the preferred PoP server using a virtual device master image stored locally on the preferred PoP server or remotely on a distributed storage.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the virtual device master image comprises a specific operating system for the type of the mobile device and has a configuration similar to the mobile device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the master control facility comprises a plurality of modules, the plurality of modules comprising a first module configured for determining a location of the mobile device and determining which PoP server of the multiple PoP servers is closest to the location of the mobile device or is in the area where the mobile device is in.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of modules comprises a second module configured for managing information relating to signal strength that has historically been provided by each PoP server of the multiple PoP servers to the master control facility.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein if an existing virtual device corresponding to the mobile device was already executing on the preferred PoP server, the master control facility directs the preferred PoP server to terminate the existing virtual device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmission of the user data between the home PoP server associated with the user and the transient storage on the preferred PoP server is managed by network management service modules respectively operating on the home PoP server and the preferred PoP server.

8. A system for enabling efficient roaming of mobile devices, the system comprising:

a master control facility embodied on non-transitory computer memory storing instructions translatable by at least one processor for;

receiving, over a network, a communication from a mobile device that identifies at least a type of the mobile device, the mobile device associated with a user, the master control facility communicatively connected to multiple point-of-presence (PoP) servers at multiple different physical locations;

determining a preferred PoP server of the multiple PoP servers that best serves an area where the mobile device is in;

directing the preferred PoP server to instantiate a virtual device that matches the type of the mobile device; and

communicating a message to the mobile device, the message indicating to the mobile device that the mobile device is to connect to the preferred PoP server of the multiple PoP servers for communicating with the virtual device instantiated by the preferred PoP server, wherein at least a portion of user data persistently stored on a home PoP server associated with the user is transmitted to a transient storage on the preferred PoP server.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the virtual device is instantiated by the preferred PoP server using a virtual device master image stored locally on the preferred PoP server or remotely on a distributed storage.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the virtual device master image comprises a specific operating system for the type of the mobile device and has a configuration similar to the mobile device.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the master control facility comprises a plurality of modules, the plurality of modules comprising a first module configured for determining a location of the mobile device and determining which PoP server of the multiple PoP servers is closest to the location of the mobile device or is in the area where the mobile device is in.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of modules comprises a second module configured for managing information relating to signal strength that has historically been provided by each PoP server of the multiple PoP servers to the master control facility.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein if an existing virtual device corresponding to the mobile device was already executing on the preferred PoP server, the master control facility directs the preferred PoP server to terminate the existing virtual device.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein transmission of the user data between the home PoP server associated with the user and the transient storage on the preferred PoP server is managed by network management service modules respectively operating on the home PoP server and the preferred PoP server.

15. A computer program product for enabling efficient roaming of mobile devices, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions translatable by at least one processor for a master control facility to perform:

receiving, over a network, a communication from a mobile device that identifies at least a type of the mobile device, the mobile device associated with a user, the master control facility communicatively connected to multiple point-of-presence (PoP) servers at multiple different physical locations;

determining a preferred PoP server of the multiple PoP servers that best serves an area where the mobile device is in;

directing the preferred PoP server to instantiate a virtual device that matches the type of the mobile device; and

communicating a message to the mobile device, the message indicating to the mobile device that the mobile device is to connect to the preferred PoP server of the multiple PoP servers for communicating with the virtual device instantiated by the preferred PoP server, wherein at least a portion of user data persistently stored on a home PoP server associated with the user is transmitted to a transient storage on the preferred PoP server.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the virtual device is instantiated by the preferred PoP server using a virtual device master image stored locally on the preferred PoP server or remotely on a distributed storage.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the virtual device master image comprises a specific operating system for the type of the mobile device and has a configuration similar to the mobile device.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the master control facility comprises a plurality of modules, the plurality of modules comprising a first module configured for determining a location of the mobile device and determining which PoP server of the multiple PoP servers is closest to the location of the mobile device or is in the area where the mobile device is in.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the plurality of modules comprises a second module configured for managing information relating to signal strength that has historically been provided by each PoP server of the multiple PoP servers to the master control facility.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein if an existing virtual device corresponding to the mobile device was already executing on the preferred PoP server, the master control facility directs the preferred PoP server to terminate the existing virtual device.