Presence monitoring in a serverless peer-to-peer system

• US 20060242235A1
• Filed: 04/22/2005
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rao, Ravi T., Manion, Todd R., Tao, Kevin R., Anirudh, Anirudh, Weisberg, Tomer, Thaler, David G., Parks, Upshur Warren III, Classen, Andre R., Gupta, Rohit, Simionescu, Radu
• Application Number:
  US11/112,134
• Publication Number:
  US 20060242235A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for facilitiating collaboration and/or communication in a peer-to-peer serverless system. The system may transmit to other computing systems associated with other entities information regarding presence information associated with a user entity. Also, the system may request of other computing systems associated with other entities information regarding presence information associated with the other entities. Presence information may generally indicate the willingness and/or ability of an entity to communicate and/or collaborate with other entities, for example.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating peer-to-peer collaboration in a serverless system, the method comprising:

transmitting, using a peer computing system associated with a user entity, presence information regarding the user entity to peer computing systems associated with a first set of other entities, the first set of other entities indicated by contact information in a contact store stored on the peer computing system associated with the user entity; and

transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, requests for presence information associated with a second set of other entities indicated by contact information in the contact store, the requests being transmitted to peer computing systems associated with the second set of other entities indicated by contact information in the contact store;

wherein the first set of other entities is capable of being different than the second set of other entities.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

providing indications of the other entities in the second set of other entities;

providing presence information associated with a particular other entity;

providing capabilities information associated with a particular other entity;

providing objects information associated with a particular other entity; and

providing endpoint information associated with a particular other entity;

providing endpoint information associated with the user entity.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein providing presence information associated with the particular other entity comprises at least one of:

providing presence information associated with one endpoint associated with the other entity;

or

providing presence information associated with a plurality of endpoints associated with the other entity.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein providing capabilities information associated with the particular other entity comprises at least one of:

providing capabilities information associated with one endpoint associated with the other entity;

or

providing capabilities information associated with a plurality of endpoints associated with the other entity.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein providing objects information associated with the particular other entity comprises at least one of:

providing objects information associated with one endpoint associated with the other entity;

or

providing objects information associated with a plurality of endpoints associated with the other entity.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

changing the presence information regarding the user entity to a specified presence state; and

transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, the changed presence information regarding the user entity to peer computing systems associated with the first set of other entities.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the peer computing system associated with the user entity is one endpoint of a plurality of endpoints associated with the user further comprising:

transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, an endpoint name associated with the peer computing system associated with the user entity to at least some peer computing systems associated with at least some other entities in the first set of other entities.

8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising setting the endpoint name associated with the peer computing system associated with the user entity.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, an indication of capabilities associated with the user entity to peer computing systems associated with a third set of other entities.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, an indication of objects associated with the user entity to peer computing systems associated with a third set of other entities.

11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising determining the objects corresponding to which the indication of the objects is to be transmitted.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein determining the objects corresponding to which the indication of the objects is to be transmitted comprises at least one of:

determining that an object has been added to the objects corresponding to which the indication of the objects is to be transmitted;

or

determining that an object has been removed from the objects corresponding to which the indication of the objects is to be transmitted.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein the second set of other entities is the same as the third set of other entities.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprises at least one of:

generating an indication that a composition of the second set of other entities has changed;

generating an indication that presence of an other entity in the second set of entities has changed;

generating an indication that objects information regarding an other entity in the second set of entities has changed;

generating an indication that capabilities information regarding an other entity in the second set of entities has changed;

generating an indication that a name of an endpoint associated with an other entity in the second set of entities has changed;

or

generating an indication that an other entity not in the first set of other entities has sent a request to monitor presence of the user entity.

15. A method for facilitating peer-to-peer collaboration and/or collaboration in a serverless system using a peer computing system associated with a user entity, the method comprising:

establishing a connection with a peer computing system associated with an other entity;

receiving a request from the peer computing system associated with the other entity to monitor presence of the user entity;

determining an identifier of the other user entity;

determining whether the identifier is in a contact store of the computing system associated with a user entity;

if the identifier is in the contact store, determining if an indicator in the contact store associated with the identifier of the other user entity indicates the other user entity may monitor the presence of the user entity; and

if the indicator associated with the identifier of the other user entity indicates the other user entity may monitor the presence of the user entity, transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, presence information associated with the user entity to the peer computing system associated with the other entity.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising authenticating the identifier of the other user entity.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein authenticating the identifier of the other user entity comprises utilizing at least one of a self-signed certificate or a third-party certificate.

18. A method according to claim 15, further comprising at least one of:

if the indicator associated with the identifier of the other user entity indicates the other user entity may monitor the presence of the user entity, transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, capabilities information associated with the user entity to the peer computing system associated with the other entity;

or

if the indicator associated with the identifier of the other user entity indicates the other user entity may monitor the presence of the user entity, transmitting, using the peer computing system associated with the user entity, objects information associated with the user entity to the peer computing system associated with the other entity.

19. A peer computing system comprising:

a contact store to store contact information, the contact store capable of indicating a first set of entities to which presence information regarding a user entity is to be provided and capable of indicating a second set of other entities from which presence information regarding the second set other entities is to be received;

a presence system coupled to the contact store, the presence system configured to transmit presence information associated with the user entity to peer computing systems associated with the first set of entities and configured to request from peer computing systems associated with the second set of entities presence information regarding the second set other entities.

20. A peer computing system according to claim 20, further comprising at least one of:

a presence store coupled to the presence system to store presence information regarding the second set other entities;

a capabilities store coupled to the presence system to store capabilties information regarding the second set other entities;

or

an objects store coupled to the presence system to store objects information regarding the second set other entities.