Device monitoring using multiple servers optimized for different types of communications

• US 9,646,180 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2013
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Absolute Software Corporation
• Original Assignee: Absolute Software Corporation
• Inventors: Gordon, William Doyle, Tchoudnovskii, Arkadi
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeudy, Josnel
• Application Number:
  US14/438,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20150294124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,289 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

An electronic device monitoring system uses two different types of servers to communicate with electronic devices of users. One type of server, which may be a rapid contact server, is optimized or configured for relatively short and frequent communications with the electronic devices. The other type of server is optimized or configured for less frequent but (typically) longer communications with the electronic devices. In some embodiments, the electronic devices are configured to communicate relatively frequently (e.g., every few minutes) with the rapid contact server. When an electronic device is reported as lost or stolen, the rapid contact server may instruct the electronic device to contact the other type of server to obtain security-related instructions.

Claims

1. A monitoring system for monitoring electronic devices, the system comprising:

a first server that is configured to communicate via the Internet with the electronic devices according to a first protocol, said first server configured to transmit security instructions to electronic devices that are reported as lost or stolen, including security instructions that protect data stored on the electronic devices; and

a second server that is configured to communicate via the Internet with the electronic devices according to a second protocol at a greater frequency than said first server communicates with the electronic devices, said second server configured to instruct an electronic device that is reported as lost or stolen to contact the first server, such that the electronic device can retrieve a security instruction from the first server,

wherein the second protocol is optimized for communications conducted using packets having a smaller byte size than packets carrying communications according to the first protocol.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second server enables the electronic devices to communicate with the monitoring system more frequently than would be possible if the electronic devices communicated with the monitoring system solely with the first server.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second protocol enables the electronic devices to communicate with the monitoring system more frequently than would be possible if the electronic devices communicated with the monitoring system solely with the first protocol.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the second server uses a software thread architecture that, in comparison to a software thread architecture of the first server, is optimized for handling a larger number of shorter communications with the electronic devices.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the second server uses a pool of non-session-specific threads to communicate with the electronic devices, and the first server communicates with the electronic devices using threads that are dedicated to specific communication sessions with the electronic devices.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the second server communicates with at least 500,000 electronic devices.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each communication using the second protocol consists of a single packet sent from one electronic device of the plurality of electronic devices to the second server.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the packet includes an identification of said one electronic device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the identification is encrypted.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein in response to receiving the packet the second server determines, based on the identification and a flag associated with the identification, whether it should establish a session with said one electronic device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein if the second server determines that it should not establish the session, the second server does not respond to said one electronic device.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein if the second server determines that it should not establish the session, the second server sends an acknowledgment to said one electronic device.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein if the second server determines that it should not establish the session, the second server sends a disconnect instruction to said one electronic device.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein if the second server determines that it should not establish the session, the second server disconnects from said one electronic device.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein if the second server determines that it should establish the session, the second server sends a message to said one electronic device requesting it to open the session.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the packet includes no information relating to said one device other than said identification.

17. The system of claim 7, wherein the packet is less than 2×

10² bytes long.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein a further communication using the second protocol occurs from the second server to one of the electronic devices via a short session having up to five packets.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the short session has up to four packets.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein a communication using the first protocol occurs from the first server to said one device via a long session that is at least an order of magnitude bigger than the short session in terms of numbers of bytes communicated.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the communication using the first protocol occurs via a long session that is 1-4 orders of magnitude bigger than the short session in terms of numbers of bytes communicated.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein a communication using the first protocol comprises the first server instructing an electronic device to stop communicating with the second server.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising an agent that is configured to be installed on the electronic devices to enable the electronic devices to communicate with the first and second servers using the first and second protocols respectively, said agent configured to place calls to the first server at a first rate, and to place calls to the second server at a second rate that is higher than the first rate.

24. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores an executable agent, said executable agent comprising instructions that direct an electronic device to perform a process that comprises:

communicating with a first server of a monitoring system according to a first protocol via the Internet, and with a second server of the monitoring system according to a second protocol via the Internet, wherein the second protocol is optimized for communications conducted using packets having a smaller byte size than packets carrying communications according to the first protocol;

receiving, from the second server, in a session based on the second protocol, an instruction to contact the first server;

in response to the instruction, initiating a communication session with the first server according to the first protocol, wherein the electronic device receives a security instruction from the first server during the communication session, said security instruction specifying a security action associated with a theft or loss of the electronic device; and

executing the security instruction.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the agent instructs the electronic device to call the first server at a first recurring call rate, and to call the second server at a second recurring call rate that is greater than the first recurring call rate.

26. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the second protocol is optimized for communications that are 1-4 orders of magnitude smaller in byte size than communications using the first protocol.

27. A method for monitoring electronic devices comprising the steps of:

receiving in a first server a notification that an electronic device that is reported as lost or stolen has an awaiting security instruction;

receiving in a second server a notification that the electronic device should contact the first server;

receiving via the Internet in the second server a single packet from the electronic device comprising an identification of the electronic device;

confirming in the second server that the identification is flagged for the electronic device to contact the first server;

establishing a first session over the Internet between the second server and the electronic device during which the second server instructs the electronic device to contact the first server; and

establishing a second session over the Internet between the first server and the electronic device during which the first server communicates the security instruction to the electronic device,

wherein the first session with the second server is conducted (a) using a packet having a smaller byte size than a packet in the second session with the first server and (b) according to a protocol in which the electronic device communicates at a greater frequency than the electronic device communicates with the first server.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the second session is 1-4 orders of magnitude greater that the first session in terms of numbers of bytes communicated.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the second server uses a pool of threads to communicate with the electronic device and the first server communicates with the electronic device using threads that are dedicated to specific sessions.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the first session has up to 5 packets.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the single packet used in the first session has 2×

10² bytes or less.