INTELLIGENT ESTABLISHMENT OF PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNICATION

• US 20090240758A1
• Filed: 03/19/2008
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Services Organization Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: SWINTON, Jeffrey H., PASKO, Douglas M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,082,290 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1072 Discovery involving ranked list compilation of candidate peers

Abstract

A device may receive, from a first peer in a network, a request for a list of one or more candidate peers from which the first peer can obtain a resource. In addition, the device may obtain the list in response to the request, determining a set of costs based on the list, and refine the list to obtain a subset list of the candidate peers based on the set of costs. Furthermore, the device may send to, the first peer, the subset list of the candidate peers from which the first peer can obtain the resource.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a first peer in a network, a request for a list of one or more candidate peers from which the first peer can obtain a resource;

obtaining the list in response to the request;

determining a set of costs based on the list;

refining the list to obtain a subset list of the candidate peers based on the set of costs; and

sending to, the first peer, the subset list of the candidate peers from which the first peer can obtain the resource.

2. The method of claim 1, where determining a set of costs includes:

determining a first point-of-presence for the first peer;

determining a point-of-presence for each peer in the list; and

determining a cost for each peer in the list, the cost being associated with communication between a point-of-presence to which the peer belongs and the first point-of-presence.

3. The method of claim 2, where refining the list includes:

selecting a subset of the candidate peers with optimal costs.

4. The method of claim 2, where determining a cost for each peer includes one of:

determining a scalar value;

or

determining a cost vector.

5. The method of claim 4, where determining a scalar value includes at least one of:

retrieving a scalar value from either a matrix or a table based on the point-of-presence to which each peer belongs and the first point-of-presence;

or

dynamically determining the scalar value based on information included in records for the point-of-presence and the first point-of-presence.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

updating either the matrix or the table to reflect changes to the network.

7. The method of claim 2, where determining a cost for each peer includes at least one of:

determining network latency between the point-of-presence to which each peer belongs and the first point-of-presence;

or

determining monetary cost of communication between the point-of-presence to which each peer belongs and the first point-of-presence.

8. The method of claim 7, where determining network latency includes:

determining a delay in communication between the point-of-presence to which each peer belongs and the first point-of-presence based on at least one of;

geographical locations of the point-of-presence and the first point-of-presence; and

identities of one or more entities that own one or more networks to which the point-of-presence and the first point-of-presence belong.

9. The method of claim 2, where determining a first point-of-presence includes:

retrieving a record whose one or more addresses match an address of the first peer.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

updating the record when network information relating to the first point-of-presence changes.

11. The method of claim 1, where receiving, from a first peer, a request includes:

receiving, from the first peer, a request for a list of peers whose processing cycles the first peer can use.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining network addresses of and state information associated with the first peer and the list of one or more candidate peers from a tracker device for tracking states of peer devices; and

sending the network addresses and the state information to a peer-to-peer server device for determining a set of costs based on points-of-presence.

13. The method of claim 1, where the first peer includes a peer application for providing the resource to other peers.

14. A device comprising:

a point-of-presence table;

a point-of-presence-to-point-of-presence cost matrix; and

a cost information server configured to;

receive, from a tracker device, a request for a set of cost information associated with communication between a first peer and each peer in a list of one or more peers to which the first peer can provide a resource;

determine a first point-of-presence for the first peer by consulting the point-of-presence table;

for each peer of the list, determine a point-of-presence by consulting the point-of-presence table;

determine cost for each peer in the list by performing a lookup of the point-of-presence-to-point-of-presence cost matrix, the cost being associated with communication between a point-of-presence to which the each peer belongs and the first point-of-presence; and

send the determined costs for the one or more peers to the tracker device.

15. The device of claim 14, where the tracker device includes:

a peer tracker configured to;

select a subset of the one or more peers based on the determined costs, and send a list of the subset to the first peer.

16. The device of claim 15, where the tracker device further includes:

state information about one or more peers, the state information including at least one of;

information that indicates whether the one or more peers are providing the resource or accessing the resource;

an identifier for each of the one or more peers;

or

a network address of each of the one or more peers.

17. The device of claim 14, where the resource includes at least one of:

processing cycles;

a portion of a file;

an application;

or

a memory.

18. The device of claim 14, where the cost for each peer includes an element of point-of-presence-to-point-of-presence cost matrix, the element including at least one of:

a network latency between the point-of-presence to which the peer belongs and the first point-of-presence;

or

monetary cost of communication between the point-of-presence and the first point-of-presence.

19. The device of claim 14, where the point-of-presence table includes records used to produce an element of the point-of-presence-to-point-of-presence cost matrix, each of the records including at least one of:

a network address associated with a point-of-presence;

a name of a geographical location associated with the point-of-presence;

or

a name of an entity that owns a network to which the point-of-presence belongs.

20. A computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions including:

instructions for receiving, from a first peer in a network, a request for a list of one or more candidate peers from which the first peer can obtain a resource;

instructions for obtaining the list in response to the request;

instructions determining a set of costs based on the list;

instructions for sorting the list of one or more candidate peers in order of decreasing cost; and

instructions for sending to, the first peer, the list of the candidate peers from which the first peer can obtain the resource.