METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PEER-TO-PEER DATABASE SYNCHRONIZATION IN DYNAMIC NETWORKS

• US 20120209808A1
• Filed: 02/11/2011
• Published: 08/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Tien, Chienwen, Miller, Raymond B., Leu, Jih-Tsang, Patel, Pravir A., Das, Suman, Lamba, Jaideep Singh, Le, Liem
• Granted Patent: US 8,612,386 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/622
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A distributed database synchronization capability is provided herein. The distributed database synchronization capability may be implemented using one or more of a timer-based scheme and a token-based scheme. The distributed database synchronization capability enables synchronization of databases of nodes in various types of networks, including dynamic networks (e.g., such as rapidly deployable wireless networks) and various other types of networks. The synchronization of databases may include synchronization of databases as a whole and/or portions of databases (which may include any suitable database table or tables). The distributed database synchronization capability enables synchronization of databases of nodes under various dynamic conditions (e.g., synchronization of databases of nodes within a cluster of nodes, synchronization of databases of nodes between clusters of nodes, synchronization of databases of nodes by administrative domain, and the like).

Claims

1. An apparatus for building a database synchronization node list of a mobile network node (MNN) associated with an organization, the apparatus comprising:

a processor configured for;

in response to a trigger condition, identifying each of a plurality of mesh neighbor nodes of the MNN having wireless connectivity to the MNN;

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN associated with the organization, entering the mesh neighbor node into the database synchronization node list of the MNN; and

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN not associated with the organization, propagating a probe message from the MNN toward the mesh neighbor node via the wireless connection therebetween.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the trigger condition is expiration of a periodic timer.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each entry of the database synchronization node list comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the node and a discovery timestamp indicative of a time at which the node was discovered, wherein the processor is configured for:

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN associated with the organization, setting the discovery timestamp of the entry of the database synchronization node list to the current time.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each probe message comprises:

an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the MNN; and

an indication of the organization with which the MNN is associated.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each probe message further comprises at least one of:

a hop counter;

a backhaul indicator; and

an IP address of a backhaul gateway.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each probe message comprises an indication of the organization with which the MNN is associated, wherein each node receiving a probe message from the MNN is configured for:

determining whether the organization with which the MNN is associated and the organization with which the receiving node is associated are the same; and

when the organizations are the same, responding to the probe message with a probe response message, and not forwarding the probe message to any other nodes;

when the organizations are different, forwarding the probe message to each mesh neighbor node of the receiving node.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured for:

receiving a probe response message at the MNN, wherein the probe response message identifies the mesh neighbor node of the MNN from which the probe response message is received.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured for:

determining whether the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received is listed in the database synchronization node list.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured for:

when the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received is not listed in the database synchronization node list, adding the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received to the database synchronization node list.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each entry of the database synchronization node list comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the node and a discovery timestamp indicative of a time at which the node was discovered, wherein the processor is further configured for:

when the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received is listed in the database synchronization node list, updating the discovery timestamp of the entry of the database synchronization node list that is associated with the mesh neighbor node to include the current time.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured for:

selecting, by the MNN, a node from the database synchronization node list; and

initiating, by the MNN, a database synchronization process for synchronizing the database of the MNN with a database of the selected node.

12. A method for building a database synchronization node list of a mobile network node (MNN) associated with an organization, the method comprising:

using a processor for;

in response to a trigger condition, identifying each of a plurality of mesh neighbor nodes of the MNN having wireless connectivity to the MNN;

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN associated with the organization, entering the mesh neighbor node into the database synchronization node list of the MNN; and

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN not associated with the organization, propagating a probe message from the MNN toward the mesh neighbor node via the wireless connection therebetween.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a probe response message at the MNN, wherein the probe response message identifies the mesh neighbor node of the MNN from which the probe response message is received;

determining whether the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received is listed in the database synchronization node list; and

when the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received is not listed in the database synchronization node list, adding the mesh neighbor node from which the probe response message is received to the database synchronization node list.

14. An apparatus for synchronizing a database of a mobile network node (MNN) associated with an organization, the apparatus comprising:

a processor configured for;

selecting, by the MNN, a neighbor node associated with the organization, the selected neighbor node being one of a plurality of neighbor nodes of the MNN that are associated with the organization, the selected neighbor node including a database; and

initiating, by the MNN, a database synchronization process for synchronizing the database of the MNN with the database of the selected neighbor node.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the selected neighbor node is selected from a neighbor node list maintained on the MNN, wherein the neighbor node list includes each of the plurality of neighbor nodes of the MNN that are associated with the organization.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, where, for each neighbor node listed in the neighbor node list, the neighbor node has associated therewith a synchronization timestamp indicative of the last time a database synchronization was performed between the MNN and the neighbor node.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the selected neighbor node is the one of the plurality of neighbor nodes having an earliest synchronization timestamp associated therewith.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured for populating the neighbor node list maintained on the MNN by:

in response to a trigger condition, identifying each of a plurality of mesh neighbor nodes of the MNN having wireless connectivity to the MNN;

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN associated with the organization, entering the mesh neighbor node into the neighbor node list of the MNN; and

for each mesh neighbor node of the MNN not associated with the organization, propagating a probe message from the MNN toward the mesh neighbor node via the wireless connection therebetween.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the neighbor nodes maintained in the neighbor node list has a discovery timestamp associated therewith, wherein the apparatus is further configured for:

removing one of the neighbor nodes from the neighbor node list in response to a determination that its discovery timestamp satisfies a threshold.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the database synchronization process comprises:

sending a database synchronization request message from the MNN toward the selected neighbor node;

receiving, at the MNN, a database synchronization response message comprising a checksum list for the database of the selected neighbor node;

comparing the checksum list for the database of the selected neighbor node with a checksum list for the database of the MNN; and

when a determination is made that one or more of the compared checksums do not match, sending a database table synchronization request message configured for requesting, from the selected neighbor node, data from the database of the selected neighbor node that is determined not to match data of the database of the MNN.