Dynamic self-configuration for ad hoc peer networking

• US 7,558,846 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2005
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leach, Paul J., Knight, Holly, Ford, Peter S., Goland, Yaron Y., Gu, Ye
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US11/071,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20050240665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709217-219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/221, 370254-258
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2898 Subscriber equipments DSL modems H04M11/062; cable modems H04L12/2801
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A device control model provides an integrated set of addressing, naming, discovery and description processes that enables automatic, dynamic and ad-hoc self-setup by devices to interoperate with other devices on a network. This permits a computing device when introduced into a network to automatically configure so as to connect and interact with other computing devices available on the network, without a user installation experience and without downloading driver software or persisting a configuration setup for connecting and interacting with such other computing devices. Upon completing interaction with such other devices, the computing device automatically releases the setup for such other devices so as to avoid persistent device configurations that might create a configuration maintenance and management burden.

Claims

1. In a computing device, a method of dynamically configuring the computing device for peer networking, comprising:

on introduction of the computing device on a network, obtaining a dynamically assigned address for the computing device;

utilizing a naming protocol to resolve device names of other computing devices present on the network;

utilizing a discovery protocol to discover other computing devices present on the network by device type or capability; and

utilizing a device description protocol to obtain data descriptive of a protocol for invoking operational function of the other computing devices, whereby the computing device automatically self-configures to establish a communications connection with another computing device present on the network and interact with said other computing device using the described protocol for invoking said other computing device'"'"'s operational functions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the obtaining a dynamically assigned address for the computing device comprises:

selecting by the computing device an address from a reserved range of addresses;

pinging the selected address on the network; and

assigning the selected address to the computing device if there is no response to said pinging the selected address.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the utilizing a naming protocol to resolve device names of the other computing devices comprises converting names of the other computing devices into addresses for establishing a connection to the other computing devices.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the converting names comprises utilizing a name server to find the addresses for the other computing devices.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the converting names comprises broadcasting a query for a named device.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the discovery response message contains presentation data defining a user interface to be presented on the computing device for a user to control operational functions of said other computing devices.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the utilizing a discovery protocol to discover other computing devices present on the network comprises:

broadcasting a query for the other computing devices, the query comprising a device type identifier; and

listening by the computing device for a discovery response message from a client identified by said device type identifier among said other computing devices.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the device description protocol comprises a computing device-specific protocol of data messages for interacting with a client device among said other computing device to control operational functions of the client device.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the device description protocol is formatted according to a mark-up language.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the mark-up language is XML.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein utilizing a device description protocol comprises:

receiving a response message from a client device among said other computing device in response to a description request, wherein said response message defines a control service protocol; and

generating a data message in accordance with the control service protocol.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the response message comprises a link to a description message.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the response message contains a link to style sheet data for defining separate views of the presentation data on the description requesting computing device.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon a software program executable on a computing device for dynamic self-bootstrapping of the computing device for peer networking, the software program comprising:

an addressing module executable by the computing device for obtaining a device address for the computing device on a network supporting peer networking;

a naming module executable by the computing device for resolving a name of another computing device on the network and establishing a communications connection with such other computing device;

a discovery module executable by the computing device for discovering other computing devices on the network by device type or capability, and establishing a communications connection with a desired such other computing device; and

a description module executable by the computing device for obtaining descriptive data from the other computing device to which a communications connection is established, such descriptive data defining a protocol for invocation of operational functions of the other computing device and being operable to control the operational functions of the other computing device.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the addressing module operates to select an address from a predetermined range of addresses by pinging a selected address on the network, and absent any response to said pinging the selected address, assigning the selected address to the computing device.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the naming module operates to convert names of the other computing devices into addresses for establishing a connection to the other computing devices.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the discovery module operates to send a discovery message via multi-cast on the network for a device type.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the descriptive data contains presentation data defining a user interface to be presented on the computing device for a user to control operation of said other computing devices.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the descriptive data is formatted according to a mark-up language.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the descriptive data comprises a link.

21. A method of dynamically configuring a computing device to automatically self-configure to control the operational functions of an other computing device, the method comprising:

obtaining a device address for the computing device on a network;

sending a discovery message on the network to discover the other computing device on the network;

establishing a communications connection with the other computing device;

obtaining descriptive data from the other computing device to which a communications connection is established, such descriptive data defining a protocol for invocation of a base set of operational functions of the computing device.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the descriptive data is in a mark-up language format.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the mark-up language is XML.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein the base set of operational functions of the computing device comprises configuration data.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein the base set of operational functions of the computing device comprises status information.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the descriptive data comprises the computing device address.

27. The method of claim 21 further comprising extending the base set of operational functions to include further operational functions.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein the protocol for invocation of a base set of operational functions is Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

29. The method of claim 21 wherein the computing device writes descriptive data to the other computing device.