Method and apparatus for providing mobile and other intermittent connectivity in a computing environment

• US 7,136,645 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2002
• Issued: 11/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

Abstract

A seamless solution transparently addresses the characteristics of nomadic systems, and enables existing network applications to run reliably in mobile environments. A Mobility Management Server coupled to the mobile network maintains the state of each of any number of Mobile End Systems and handles the complex session management required to maintain persistent connections to the network and to other peer processes. If a Mobile End System becomes unreachable, suspends, or changes network address (e.g., due to roaming from one network interconnect to another), the Mobility Management Server maintains the connection to the associated peer task—allowing the Mobile End System to maintain a continuous connection even though it may temporarily lose contact with its network medium. An interface-based listener uses network point of attachment information supplied by a network interface to determine roaming conditions and to efficiently reestablish connection upon roaming. The Mobility Management Server can distribute lists to Mobile End Systems specifying how to contact it over disjoint networks.

Claims

1. In a data communications environment including:

a plurality of data networks or subnetworks capable of communicating Internet Protocol packet-based data;

at least one resource consumer that consumes at least one resource;

at least one mobile computing device coupled to at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks; and

at least another computing device that is coupled to at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks,

wherein said at least one mobile computing device communicates with said at least another computing device at least in part via at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks,

a distributed policy-management arrangement comprising;

a policy management module present at least on said at least one mobile computing device, said policy management module dynamically conditioning or dynamically modifying at least one of consumption of and access to said at least one resource by said at least one resource consumer;

wherein said distributed policy management arrangement provides at least one of (a) a rule, and (b) a control, that dynamically conditions or dynamically modifies at least one of said consumption of and said access to said resource by the resource consumer based at least in part on at least one of (a) a change in the state of the resource consumer, (b) the identity of the resource consumer, (c) said mobile computing device'"'"'s communication capability via at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks, (d) a time event associated with said policy management arrangement, and (e) a mobility event associated with said mobile computing device,

wherein said policy management arrangement dynamically conditions or dynamically modifies said consumption of or access to the said at least one resource even if said communication(s) are encrypted.

2. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement distributes processing of attributes of policy management rules to the at least one mobile computing device.

3. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising a priority arrangement that prioritizes policy management rules by position in a policy table and/or explicit notation by an ordinal to provide expected behavior.

4. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising a datastore for rule attributes that is locally or centrally administered via central management services.

5. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising an arrangement that modifies behavior of a particular application(s) based on at least one parameter.

6. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 wherein the effect of the policy management is to dynamically allow, deny or delay requests based on attributes of policy management rules.

7. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising an arrangement that invokes a rule or set of rules to control or modify an application(s) process even after the application is already started.

8. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising point of presence location information that is further used to govern at least one of consumption of and access to the resource and provide relevant information to the at least one mobile computing device or the at least another computing device.

9. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising an arrangement that uses rate of motion along with distance measurements to govern at least one of consumption of and access to the resource and/or the communication path.

10. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 8 further comprising an arrangement that extracts topological information as result of the location information.

11. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement performs per-user mobile policy management for managing consumption of the at least one resource.

12. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 further including a module allowing a system administrator to centrally manage or control the at least one of consumption of and access to said at least one resource by application(s) executing on at least one of the mobile computing device and the at least another computing device.

13. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 12 further including a module that allows a system administrator to place policy management controls on at least one of the mobile computing device and the at least another computing device.

14. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement manages consumption of network bandwidth.

15. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement manages consumption of network resources.

16. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement provides security related controls.

17. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement provides centralized administration of policy to be enforced.

18. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said at least another computing device comprises a proxy server.

19. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said at least another computing device proxies distinct data streams for mobile computing devices and thereby provides a central point from which to conduct policy management.

20. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said at least another computing device controls and limits access to the resource on a per-user basis, a per-device basis or both.

21. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement locks out certain users from accessing the at least one resource.

22. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement controls particular web universal resource locators that can be accessed.

23. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement filters data associated with an application service request.

24. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said at least one mobile device or said at least another computing device compresses application(s) data based at least in part on said rule or control.

25. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement enhances an application level service in a seamless manner.

26. The distributed policy management arrangement of claim 1 wherein said policy management arrangement enhances an application level service in a transparent manner.

27. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising an arrangement that modifies behavior of a particular application(s) based on a number of parameters including network point of attachment.

28. A distributed policy management arrangement as in claim 1 further comprising an arrangement that modifies behavior of a particular application(s) based on parameters including trust relationship.

29. In a network computing environment comprising

a plurality of networks or subnetworks;

at least one resource consumer that consumes at least one resource at least in part via at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks;

at least one mobile computing device coupled to at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks; and

at least another computing device that is coupled to at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks,

a distributed policy management system including a first module operable on said at least another computing device coupled to said at least one of said networks or subnetworks,

said distributed policy management system including a second module operable on said mobile computing device, said first and second modules cooperating to dynamically manage at least one of;

(a) access by said resource consumer to the at least one resource, and (b) consumption by said resource consumer of the at least one resource as said mobile computing device roams between said plurality of networks or subnetworks, even if the mobile computing device becomes unreachable or communication accessing or consuming the at least one resource is encrypted.

30. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said mobile computing device accesses said network or subnetwork wirelessly.

31. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein dynamically managing includes dynamically controlling.

32. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said another computing device acts as a proxy for said mobile computing device.

33. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said mobile computing device and said policy management system cooperate to manage at least one of access to and consumption of the resource on a per user basis.

34. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said mobile computing device and said policy management system cooperate to manage at least one of access to and consumption of the resource on a per device basis.

35. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said mobile computing device and said policy management system cooperate to manage at least one of access to and consumption of the resource on both a per user basis and a per device basis.

36. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said mobile computing device and said policy management system cooperate to enhance an application-level service in a transparent manner.

37. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said another computing device and said mobile computing device cooperate to provide policy decision-making based on at least a cost metric.

38. The network computing environment of claim 37 wherein said environment is multi-homed/multi-path, and said cost metric comprises a least cost along at least one of multiple communication path.

39. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system and said mobile computing device cooperate to enforce policy management rules based at least in part on locale of the mobile computing device.

40. The network computing environment of claim 39 wherein the locale comprises proximity to a network point of attachment(s).

41. The network computing environment of claim 39 wherein the locale comprises proximity to an access point(s)/base station(s).

42. The network computing environment of claim 39 wherein the locale comprises proximity to a network hub(s).

43. The network computing environment of claim 39 wherein the locale comprises proximity to a router(s).

44. The network computing environment of claim 39 wherein the locale comprises a GPS coordinate(s).

45. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system and said mobile computing device cooperate to allow certain operations in one area of an enterprise but not in another area of said enterprise.

46. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein at least one of said another computing device and said mobile computing device is limited by the policy management system such that said application(s) operating on the mobile computing device is allowed to access or consume services of less than all of said plurality of networks or subnetworks.

47. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said environment comprises an enterprise having a loading dock area and an office area served by at least one wireless network, and said policy management system cooperating with said mobile computing device does not permit said mobile computing device to access the office environment via said wireless network.

48. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system and said mobile computing device cooperate to govern the rate at which an application'"'"'s operations/transactions are completed.

49. The network computing environment of claim 48 wherein said policy management system learns the governing dynamically.

50. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system allows for other actions to be invoked based on rule evaluation.

51. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system logs events.

52. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system sends alerts.

53. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system notifies users that an action is being denied, delayed, or conditioned.

54. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system interactively notifies users.

55. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system allows a user to override existing rules.

56. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system acquires other locale base information and services for policy management.

57. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system acquires other locale base information and services for network modeling.

58. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system acquires other locale base information and services for asset tracking.

59. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system automatically presents information applicable within context of a mobile computing device present location.

60. The network computing environment of claim 59 wherein said information comprises a message.

61. The network computing environment of claim 59 wherein said information comprises a file.

62. The network computing environment of claim 59 wherein the information comprises an electronic format.

63. The network computing environment of claim 59 wherein the information comprises current sales, discounts, and services.

64. The network computing environment of claim 59 wherein the information comprises electronic coupons used for sales promotion.

65. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said environment provides seamless connectivity for said mobile computing device while migrating among network mediums or points of attachment.

66. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system comprises a rules engine that applies at least one rule.

67. The network computing environment of claim 66 wherein said rule comprises a learned rule.

68. The network computing environment of claim 66 wherein said rule comprises a statically defined rule.

69. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system applies a rule based on at least one of a user, a user group, a device, a device group, a process, an application identity, a network point of attachment.

70. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system uses a distributed architecture to apply or share a decision set.

71. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system performs the policy management processing and/or decision to accommodate limited processing power or electrical power of the mobile computing device.

72. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system performs policy management processing and/or decision to accommodate bandwidth limitations of the network(s)or subnetwork(s) the mobile computing device has access to.

73. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system performs policy management processing and/or decision making to accommodate security considerations of the mobile computing device.

74. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system defines and populates a policy table.

75. The network computing environment of claim 74 wherein said policy management system statically populates the policy table.

76. The network computing environment of claim 74 wherein said policy management system dynamically populates the policy table.

77. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system updates policy anytime before establishing a connection.

78. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system updates policy anytime while establishing a connection.

79. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system updates policy anytime after establishing a connection.

80. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system dynamically manages and/or controls at least one of access to and consumption of the resource even while the mobile computing device is unreachable.

81. The network computing environment of claim 29 wherein said policy management system dynamically manages and/or controls at least one of access to and consumption of the resource even while the mobile computing device is unable to send IP datagrams over any network or subnetwork.

82. In a data communications environment including:

a plurality of networks or subnetworks,

at least one resource consumer that consumes at least one resource at least in part via at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks,

at least one mobile computing device communicating with at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks, and

at least another computing device that is coupled to at least one of said plurality of networks and subnetworks,

a method comprising;

executing, on said at least one mobile computing device, said resource consumer comprising at least one software module that at least one of accesses and consumes at least one computing resource via said at least one of said plurality of networks or subnetworks, and

managing policy at least in part through cooperation involving said mobile computing device, including dynamically managing, based at least on an identity of at least one computing application, at least one of;

(a) access by said resource consumer to said resource, and (b) consumption by said resource consumer of said resource, at least in part in response to change in the state of said mobile computing device, even if communication with the resource is encrypted.

83. The method of claim 82 wherein said mobile computing device wirelessly accesses at least one of said plural networks or subnetworks.

84. The method of claim 82 wherein said dynamically managing comprises dynamically controlling.

85. The method of claim 82 further including using another computing device to proxy said mobile computing device.

86. The method of claim 82 further including cooperating with said mobile computing device to manage at least one of access to and consumption of the resource on a per user basis.

87. The method of claim 82 further including cooperating with the mobile computing device to manage at least one of access to and consumption of the resource on a per device basis.

88. The method of claim 82 further including providing policy decision-making based on a cost metric.

89. The method of claim 82 further including providing least cost consumption within a multi-homed/multi-path environment.

90. The method of claim 82 further including enforcing policy management rules based at least in part on locale of the mobile computing device.

91. The method of claim 82 further including allowing certain operations in one area of an enterprise but not in another area of said enterprise.

92. The method of claim 82 further including allowing said mobile computing device to access or consume resources via less than all of said plurality of networks or subnetworks.

93. The method of claim 82 further including governing the rate at which an application'"'"'s operations/transactions are completed.

94. The method of claim 82 further including notifying users that an action is being denied, delayed, or conditioned.

95. The method of claim 82 further including allowing an operator to override predetermined policy rules.

96. The method of claim 82 further including acquiring other locale base information and services for policy management.

97. The method of claim 82 further including automatically presenting information applicable within the context of a mobile computing device present location.

98. The method of claim 82 further including providing seamless connectivity for said mobile computing device while migrating among network mediums or point of attachments.

99. The method of claim 82 further including configuring rules based on at least one of a user, a user group, a device, a device group, a process, an application identity, and a network point of attachment.

100. The method of claim 82 further including sharing a policy decision set within a distributed architecture.

101. The method of claim 82 further including performing policy management processing and/or decisionmaking to accommodate limited processing or electrical power of the mobile computing device.

102. The method of claim 82 further including performing policy management processing and/or decisionmaking to accommodate bandwidth limitations of at least one network(s) or subnetwork(s) that the mobile computing device is currently associated with.

103. The method of claim 82 further including performing policy management processing and/or decisionmaking to accommodate mobile computing device security.

104. The method of claim 82 further including dynamically managing and/or controlling at least one of access to and consumption of said resource even while the mobile computing device is unreachable.

105. The method of claim 82 further including dynamically managing and/or controlling at least one of access to and consumption of said resource even while the mobile computing device is unable to send IP datagrams over any network or subnetwork.