Non-persistent and persistent information setting method and system for inter-process communication

• US 20070106722A1
• Filed: 10/26/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trapeze Networks Incorporated (Juniper Networks Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Trapeze Networks Incorporated (Juniper Networks Incorporated)
• Inventors: Williams, Joseph, Zeldin, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,250,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

System, method, architecture, network device, and computer programs and computer program products for inter-process communications. Message structure, procedure for generating the message structure, applications of the message structure and messaging method for obtaining status, statistics, and other information and for performing an information or parameter set operation across one or more process boundaries, and to other device and system architectures and methods for utilizing the messages and messaging methodology.

Claims

1. A method for setting an information across an interprocess boundary from a from an information producer process to an information consumer process using an information setting message, where the producer and consumer processes are separated by at least one process boundary, the method comprising:

generating an information set request in the producer process;

communicating a message including the information set request from the producer process to the consumer process;

receiving the information request by the consumer process; and

processing the request and setting the information in the consumer process.

2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

generating a response; and

communicating a message including the response that includes a operation status of the information set operation in the consumer process.

3. A method as in claim 2, Wherein the operation status is selected from the set consisting of an error status or a success status.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the information comprises a state information and the message comprises a persistent or non-persistent set type message, and the consumer and producer processes are two different processes within a network switch device.

5. A method as in claim 4, wherein one of the processes is a configuration process responsible for configuring settings or parameter of the network switch and the other of the two process is a network process responsible for providing one or more parameters or status information items.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message is a persistent set (PS) or non-persistent set (NPS) operation type message which generates or causes the generation of a plurality of interfaces for setting information in an external target process, and which automatically creates both request message and an optional response prototype messages with no user data returned in the response.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the set operation is non-persistent in the target process and may be made persistent in the target process by directing the receiving process to save or store the state or information that is communicated by the NPS message.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes a procedure for passing or communicating the information to be set across process boundaries so that the information to be set that is normally resident only in a first process may be obtained and utilized in another second process external to the first process.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message is a non-persistent set message type, and the method further including persistently setting the information by executing an additional save or storage operation of the information set at the destination to persistently save the non-persistently set information at the information consumer making that consumer a persistently set consumer.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first process includes a network device configuration first process and the NPS message consumer resides in a second device or network process.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NPS producer resides and executes in a configuration process and generates a NPS request;

sends the generated NPS request to a network process;

is received by the NPS consumer, optionally via a dispatcher; and

the NPS consumer takes up the request, and generates a response that it sends back to the NPS producer in the configuration process, optionally via a dispatcher.

12. A method as in claim 1, wherein the communicated message comprises an information setting NPS message type.

13. A method as in claim 12, wherein the information setting NPS message may optionally include a NPS message header, a key, and/or a message record.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein the information setting NPS message may provide a null or absent message header, a null or absent key, and a null or absent message header.

15. A method as in claim 12, wherein the information setting NPS message includes a header or implementation file in the information request and in the response to that information request, but does not include one or more of the key and the message record.

16. A method as in claim 1, wherein the communicated message includes an NPS header or interface description for a NPS information request and optionally an NPS information response.

17. A method as in claim 16, wherein the NPS header or interface description includes:

a length field indicating a size or number of octets in the message not including any NPS header;

a sequence number field indicating an ever-increasing message sequence number;

a number of records field indicating a total number of records included in the message not including any message keys that might optionally be present; and

an optional result field indicating a returned result from an operation that is optional in request and in response messages.

18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NPS message includes at least one parameter and the at least one parameter(s) are inherently defined as key parameters and are sent as keys in the NPS request message.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein no records need be returned in the NPS response.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein a status code is optionally returned in the response providing either an indication that the message was received or completed successfully or that it was not received or not completed successfully or that some error occurred.

21. A method as in claim 1, wherein the information messages are defined as a DTD format.

22. A method as in claim 21, wherein the information setting message comprises an NPS message that is defined in the XML programming language.

23. A method as in claim 1, wherein the information setting message includes a capability for returning an information item from another process across an inter-process boundary.

24. A method as in claim 23, wherein the information item is selected from the set of information items consisting of a value, a statistical information, a plurality of information items, a status, a set or plurality of status items, a state, or any combination of these.

25. A method as in claim 1, wherein the information setting message comprises an NPS message and includes a first key element that permits reference from the NPS message sender requesting the setting of information, and a second key element that is included with the message back from the responding process so that the process receiving the response has a reference to match it back with either the requested setting of information or with the requesting process.

26. A method as in claim 1, wherein the information setting message comprises an NPS message for setting information from a process into another process;

and the NPS message optionally includes an indicator that has at least two states and identifies that the NPS message should be executed as a synchronous communication or message, or as an asynchronous communication or message.

27. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message that generates interfaces for setting an information and the interfaces automatically create both request and optional response message prototypes.

28. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message that generates interfaces for setting information in another process and the interfaces automatically create both request and optional response message prototypes;

and provides either one of the synchronous and asynchronous prototypes.

29. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message includes an NPS message, and for each NPS message defined there are a plurality of functions automatically generated using an NPS message transformation or conversion tool including an Application Program Interface (API) which may be used when implementing NPS information setting.

30. A method as in claim 29, wherein the NPS message transformation or conversion tool comprises a NPS message compiler.

31. A method as in claim 29, wherein ones of the plurality of functions are selected from the set of functions consisting of NPS message producer functions and NPS message consumer functions.

32. A method as in claim 31, wherein the functions are selected from the set of functions consisting of marshall, unmarshall, register, dispatch, set, next record, next key, allocate, deallocate, insert, and combinations of these.

33. A method as in claim 29, wherein at least one of the automatically generated Application Program Interfaces is a per-message API, and at least one of the automatically generated Application Program Interfaces is a per-catalog API.

34. A method as in claim 29, wherein a set of application program interfaces (APIs) are automatically generated for each message and for each catalog and include at least one of an internal API, a consumer process side API, and a producer process side API.

35. A method according to claim 29, wherein APIs that are generated that are specific to an NPS type message.

36. A method according to claim 21, wherein an NPS message transformation or conversion tool operates on an NPS message definition to generates APIs.

37. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message that selectably generates the interfaces for persistent or non-persistent set operations, and automatically creates both request prototype and an optional response prototype without user data returned in the response.

38. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message includes a name attribute, a type attribute, and optionally at least one parameter type attribute.

39. A method as in claim 1, wherein the messaging includes the use of application program interfaces by the NPS producer and the NPS consumer including general application program interfaces.

40. A method as in claim 39, wherein the general application program interfaces are used by a callback function.

41. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NPS messaging model includes application program interfaces common across message types including general APIs that are used by NPS producer functions and NPS consumer functions when present.

42. A method according to claim 41, wherein the general APIs are not generated on a per-message or per-catalog basis.

43. A method according to claim 41, wherein the per-message and per-catalog APIs are generated on a per-message or per-catalog basis.

44. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NPS general APIs include an NPS done API that is used by the NPS consumer to return the NPS response message.

45. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NPS general APIs include an NPS set error string API that sends a formatted error string from the NPS consumer to the NPS producer.

46. A method according to claim 1, wherein the NPS general APIs include an NPS delete error string API that is used by the NPS Consumer to delete an error string that was returned from NPS set.

47. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and a plurality of APIs are generated that are specific to a given particular NPS message.

48. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used by a STAT consumer to retrieve the next record in a STAT message response.

49. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used by a NPS message consumer.

50. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used to send an NPS request message

51. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used by a NPS producer to register a producer handler function for a given message.

52. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used to allocate memory for the record of the given message type.

53. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used to free memory for the record of the given message type.

54. A method as in claim 1, wherein the message comprises an NPS message and an API is automatically generated that is used by a NPS producer to insert a record into a NPS response message.

55. A method as in claim 1, the message comprises an NPS message and the method further comprising providing a NPS message interface, the NPS interface enabling a messaging mechanism for setting of state or other information.

56. A method as in claim 2, wherein the response is returned back to the requesting process from the message destination process;

and the response includes a state variable within the response returned back to the message requesting process.

57. A method as in claim 1, wherein the method includes a NPS messaging model where for each NPS message sent to a recipient process, an optional response may be returned to the sending process and thereby provides an automated request and response.

58. A method according to claim 1, wherein for each message defined and processed as a NPS message there are two automatically generated messages including the first request message and the second response message.

59. A method according to claim 2, further including generating a plurality of autogenerated NPS APIs for NPS messaging.

60. A method according to claim 59, wherein the autogenerated NPS APIs include an NPS set API used to send an NPS request message from NPS Producer to NPS Consumer.

61. A method according to claim 60, wherein the autogenerated NPS APIs include an NPS register API used by the NPS consumer to register a consumer handler function for a given message.

68. A method according to claim 52, wherein the high-level descriptive language includes the XML computer program language, and the NPS message compiler comprises an XML language compiler.

62. A computer readable medium encoded with a computer program for directing a computer to set an information in an information consumer process, where the consumer process is separated by at least one process boundary from an information producer process, the computer program including a module that includes executable instructions for:

generating an information set request in the producer process;

communicating a message including the information set request from the producer process to the consumer process;

receiving the information request by the consumer process; and

processing the request and setting the information in the consumer process.

63. A system for setting an information from an information producer process to an information consumer process, where the producer and consumer processes are separated by at least one process boundary, the computer system comprising:

means for generating an information set request in the producer process;

means for communicating a message including the information set request from the producer process to the consumer process;

means for receiving the information request by the consumer process; and

means for processing the request and setting the information in the consumer process.

64. A method for defining information to be set in an external process in a computing machine or device, the method comprising:

defining a message using a high-level language;

automatically generating a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) including implementation code and any interfaces; and

using the APIs to transfer information, data, or state from one process to another process across a process boundary.

65. A method for designing an information setting message comprising:

(1) defining an information setting (NPS) message in a high-level descriptive language;

(2) running the high-level descriptive language through an NPS message transformation or modification tool adapted to the high-level descriptive language to generate per-NPS message Application Program Interfaces (APIs); and

(3) using these APIs to set the NPS information from one process to another process.

66. A method according to claim 65, wherein the high-level descriptive language includes the XML computer program language.

67. A method according to claim 65, wherein the NPS message transformation or modification tool adapted to the high-level descriptive language comprises an NPS message compiler.