Fully distributed, scalable infrastructure, communication system

• US 7,246,145 B1
• Filed: 09/29/2000
• Issued: 07/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gits, Peter Michael, Seavey, Dale J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
• Assistant Examiner(s): LESNIEWSKI, VICTOR D
• Application Number:
  US09/676,147
• Time in Patent Office: 2,482 Days
• Field of Search: 709/232, 709/246, 709/248, 709/313, 709201-203, 709/230, 709/223, 709/224, 709/243, 709/249, 707/201, 707/203, 707/10, 707/200
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

A fully distributed, scalable infrastructure, communication system. The system comprises at least on Space, at least one double agent and at least one non-space specific double agent. Devices and applications that wish to communicate with other members of the Community or outside of the Community insert objects into the Space. The Space then publishes the presence of that object to subscribed members of the community. The double agents are capable of communicating with any desired protocols on one side and the Space protocol on the other. Non-space specific agents handle routing, administrative and other tasks, such as communication between Spaces and Communities.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

at least one community, each community comprised of;

a community service to manage the communication system, wherein managing the communications system includes registering distributed, persistent stores, agents and services and the community service monitors, stops, re-starts, and clones stores, agents and services without requiring administrative intervention;

at least one distributed, persistent store having publish and subscribe capability and communicating using a first protocol; and

at least one double agent, operable to communicate with entities making and receiving telephone calls using a second protocol and the persistent store using the first protocol; and

at least one non-space specific double agent, operable to communicate with persistent stores outside the community using the first protocol by taking any objects from at least one persistent store in the community intended for a persistent store in another community and transferring the objects to the persistent store in another community wherein the objects intended for the persistent store in another community are telephone calls intended for users that are members of the other community.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the at least one double agent further comprises a universal double agent (UDA) capable of communicating with the persistent store and any entity.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the at least one double agent further comprises a morphing double agent (MDA) capable of adopting characteristics to communicate with any entity.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the at least one double agent further comprises at least one device specific double agent.

5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the at least one non-space specific double agent further comprises a determination agent.

6. The communications system of claim 1, further comprising a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol object residing in the persistent store to provide network addresses to members of the community.

7. The communications system of claim 1, further comprising a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol object residing in the persistent store to provide a directory of services.

8. A method of providing communications, the method comprising:

establishing a distributed, persistent store having a publish and subscribe capability;

providing a community service to manage a communications system including the persistent store, wherein managing the communication system includes registering persistent stores and other members with a community service to manage the communication system, wherein managing the communications system includes registering distributed, persistent stores, monitoring, stopping, re-starting and cloning agents and services without requiring administrative intervention;

inserting an object into the persistent store using a first protocol to communicate with the persistent store, wherein the object is generated by a double agent in communication with a member of a Community placing a telephone call using a second protocol requesting an action;

providing notification to subscribed members of the Community of the insertion of the object into the persistent store; and

transferring objects from the persistent store in the Community to a persistent store in another Community using a non-space specific double agent communicating with the first protocol because a called user is a member of the other Community.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises reinserting objects intended for other spaces into the persistent store.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the persistent store, the double agent and the subscribed members reside on at least two different computing devices.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the object inserted includes a wrapper addressed for a determination agent.

12. A computer-readable medium, wherein the medium includes instructions, that when executed by a computer, results in:

establishment of a distributed, persistent store having a publish and subscribe capability;

management of a communications system including the persistent stores wherein management includes registering distributed, persistent stores, agents and services and the community service monitors, stops, re-starts and clones stores, agents and services without requiring administrative intervention;

insertion of an object representing an incoming telephone call into the persistent store using a first protocol to communicate with the persistent store, wherein the object is generated by a double agent in communication with a member of a Community placing the call;

providing notification to subscribed members of the Community of the insertion of the object into the persistent store; and

transferring objects from the persistent store in the Community to a persistent store in another Community when a called user does not reside in the Community using a non-space specific double agent communicating with the first protocol.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the medium is comprised of at least two computing devices.

14. A network device including a processor and a memory, the processor configured to:

establish a distributed, persistent store in the memory;

execute an agent to generate an object in response to a request from a member of a Community using a second protocol to communicate with the member, wherein the object represents a telephone call;

provide a community service for registering persistent stores and agents within a community, the community service being self-healing in that agents and services within a Community are monitored, stopped, re-started, and cloned by the community service without requiring administrative intervention; and

insert the object into the persistent store using a first protocol, wherein the persistent store provides notification to subscribed members of the Community of the insertion of the object into the persistent store by taking any objects from at least one persistent store in the community intended for a persistent store in another community, wherein the telephone call is intended for a party in another community, and transferring the objects to the persistent store in the other community using a non-space specific double agent communicating with the first protocol.

15. A method of providing communications, the method comprising:

receiving a telephone call from a first user;

using a double agent to generate an object representing the telephone call, wherein the object identifies a called party and the double agent communicates with the first user using a first telephone protocol;

inserting the object into the persistent store using a second protocol;

providing notification to subscribed members of a Community of the insertion of the object into the persistent store;

managing of a communications system that includes the persistent stores wherein managing includes registering distributed, persistent stores, agents and services and the community service monitors, stops, re-starts, and clones stores, agents and services without requiring administrative intervention;

determining that the object is unresolvable by any member of the Community because the called user does not reside in the Community;

transferring the object from the persistent store in the Community to a persistent store in another Community in which the called user resides using a non-space specific agent communicating with the first protocol;

resolving the object in the other Community; and

sending a call notification to the called party using a third telephone protocol.

16. A network device, comprising:

means for establishing a distributed, persistent store in the memory;

means for executing an agent to generate an object in response to a request from a member of a Community using a first protocol;

means for providing a community service for registering persistent stores and agents within a community; and

means for inserting the object into the persistent store using a second protocol, wherein the persistent store provides notification to subscribed members of the Community of the insertion of the object into the persistent store by taking any objects from at least one persistent store in the community intended for a persistent store in another community and transferring the objects to the persistent store in another community using a non-space specific double agent communicating with the second protocol.