METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CAPABILITY-BASED SYSTEM COLLABORATION

• US 20090225654A1
• Filed: 03/07/2008
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Sharp, David Clyde
• Granted Patent: US 8,248,933 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5038 considering the execution order of a plurality of tasks, e.g. taking priority or time dependency constraints into consideration scheduling strategies G06F9/4881 and subgroups

Abstract

A method for establishing a full end-to-end functionality chain of collaborating network accessible capabilities within a network centric environment is described. The method includes identifying the network accessible capabilities that are necessary to implement the end-to-end functionality chain, receiving data relating to which capabilities are available at each network node, determining if all necessary capabilities are available based on received responses to the data request, selecting one or more network accessible capability instances for each necessary network accessible capability, and executing the selected capability instances in an order that implements the end-to-end functionality chain.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a full end-to-end functionality chain of collaborating network accessible capabilities within a network centric environment, said method comprising:

identifying the network accessible capabilities that are necessary to implement the end-to-end functionality chain;

receiving data relating to which capabilities are available at each network node;

determining if all necessary capabilities are available based on received responses to the data request;

selecting one or more network accessible capability instances for each necessary network accessible capability; and

executing the selected capability instances in an order that implements the end-to-end functionality chain.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein executing the selected capability instances comprises causing selected network accessible capability instances to collaborate via a middleware communication framework.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein executing the selected capability instances comprises sharing information between the selected network accessible capabilities to establish references between the network accessible capabilities.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein identifying the network accessible capabilities comprises one of:

identifying the network accessible capabilities while the network centric environment is operational; and

identifying the network accessible capabilities prior to the network centric environment being operational.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the network accessible capabilities are centrally defined and coordinated.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein selecting one or more network accessible capability instances comprises assigning network accessible capability instances to one or more capability categories, where the capability categories include at least one of:

platform independent capabilities which execute on a particular platform, but have no specific platform relationship;

platform dependent capabilities which are constrained to execute on at least one particular platform;

platform dependent capabilities which execute on one platform but are statically or dynamically allocated to control and interface with a separate platform;

network dependent capabilities that are constrained to execute on a particular platform based on a network connectivity between that particular platform and another platform; and

personnel dependent capabilities that are constrained to execute on behalf of specific system operators on specific platforms with which those operators interact.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein identifying the network accessible capabilities comprises examining metadata associated with the network accessible capabilities to determine at least one of:

a unique identifier for the network accessible capability;

at least one associated capability category for the network accessible capability;

at least one communication framework associated with the network accessible capability; and

a network node on which the network accessible capability can be executed.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein selecting one or more network accessible capability instances for each necessary network accessible capability comprises accessing multiple instances of the same network accessible capability to support end-to-end functionality should a selected network accessible capability instance fail.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein at least one selected network accessible capability instance is executed or is in the process of execution prior to selection of all of the network accessible capability instances necessary to support the end-to-end functionality chain.

10. A method for providing collaborating network capabilities accessible from multiple communication frameworks within a network centric environment, said method comprising:

registering availability of each network capability with a dedicated single domain discovery service where each single domain discovery service is associated with an individual communication framework and the network capabilities accessible from the individual communication framework;

collecting registrations from multiple single domain discovery services into one or more multiple domain discovery services which span multiple communication frameworks;

retrieving, from at least one of the multiple domain discovery services, registrations for a plurality of desired network capabilities, the retrieved registrations associated with the communication frameworks the multiple domain discovery service is able to access;

selecting a single registration for each desired network capability from the one or more multiple domain discovery services; and

accessing the desired network capabilities using the individual communication framework associated with the selected registration for each desired network capability.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein selecting a single registration for each desired network capability comprises selecting a single registration from multiple registrations for each desired network capability.

12. A method according to claim 10 wherein selecting a single registration for each desired network capability comprises selecting a single registration from registrations across multiple communication frameworks for each desired network capability.

13. A method according to claim 10 wherein the one or more multiple domain discovery services share network capability registrations that have been received from a plurality of singe-domain discovery services.

14. A method according to claim 10 wherein multiple instances of the same capability, at least a portion of the multiple instances of the same capability accessible from different communication frameworks, are used to support continued operation of the network centric environment in a selected single registration fails.

15. A system of computer networks, said system comprising:

a multiple domain discovery service configured to receive registrations for collaborating network capabilities from a plurality of single domain discovery services; and

at least one processing node programmed to;

select one or more network capabilities to be executed in an order that implements an end-to-end functionality chain; and

execute the selected network capabilities instances.

16. A system according to claim 15 comprising a plurality of processing nodes, said multiple domain discovery service executable on said plurality of processing nodes, the selected instances of the one or more network capabilities executable on the various said nodes, and operable to communicate with one another and to communicate with the single-domain discovery services to collect registration information from individual communication frameworks.

17. A system according to claim 15 wherein to execute the selected capability instances said at least one processing node is programmed to share information between said multiple domain discovery services said to propagate references to the network accessible capabilities.

18. A system according to claim 15 wherein to select one or more network capabilities to be executed said at least one processing node is programmed to:

identify the network accessible capabilities while the network centric environment is operational; and

identify the network accessible capabilities prior to the network centric environment being operational.

19. A system according to claim 15 wherein the network capabilities are centrally defined and coordinated.

20. A system according to claim 15 wherein said at least one processing node is programmed to assign network accessible capability instances to one or more capability categories, including at least one of platform independent capabilities which execute on a particular platform, but have no specific platform relationship, platform dependent capabilities which are constrained to execute on at least one particular platform, platform dependent capabilities which execute on one platform but are statically or dynamically allocated to control and interface with a separate platform, network dependent capabilities that are constrained to execute on a particular platform based on a network connectivity between that particular platform and another platform, and personnel dependent capabilities that are constrained to execute on behalf of specific system operators on specific platforms with which those operators interact.