Re-establishing a connection for an application layer via a service layer

• US 7,594,020 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2005
• Issued: 09/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kolluru, Nagendra V., Apreutesei, Elena, Bobde, Nikhil
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Jimmy H
• Application Number:
  US11/142,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271681A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,575 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227, 709/228, 719/328
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A method and system for establishing a connection with a server after a connection has been broken is provided. A connection system in a service layer of a client detects that a connection between the client and the server has been broken. Upon detecting the broken connection, the connection system of the service layer automatically attempts to re-establish an application-level connection to the server. If the connection system can re-establish an application-level connection to the server, then it need not notify the application layer of the broken connection.

Claims

1. A method in a client for establishing a connection with a server, the client having an application layer and a service layer, the application layer using a session initiation protocol (“

SIP”

) and the service layer using a communication-level protocol that is different from the session initiation protocol, the client and the server being computing devices, the method comprising;

under control of the application layer executing at the client, providing to the service layer a SIP INVITE request to establish an application-level connection with a server using the session initiation protocol; and

under control of the service layer executing at the client,

providing to the application layer services for accessing a server including a service for, upon being provided with the SIP INVITE request, sending to a server using the communication-level protocol the SIP INVITE request to establish an application-level connection between the client and the server;

detecting that the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection;

after detecting that the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection, attempting to re-establish an application-level connection between the client and a server without notifying the application layer that the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection by sending to a server using the communication-level protocol a SIP INVITE request to establish a new application-level connection with a server;

when an application-level connection is re-established with a server, resuming the providing of services to the application layer; and

when an application-level connection is not re-established with a server, notifying the application layer that the client no longer has an application-level connection to the server;

wherein the service layer that uses a communication-level protocol re-establishes an application-level connection to a server without notifying the application layer that it was detected that the client was no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection and without notifying the application layer that the application-level connection was re-established with a server; and

wherein a communications layer controls the transport of application-level messages to the server via a communications-level connection and wherein the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection when the communications-level connection is broken.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients and the re-established connection is with a server other than the server to which the client was last connected.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection, delaying the performing of the requested service until the application-level connection is re-established.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client is no longer connected to the server via the application-level connection, notifying the application layer that the service is temporarily unavailable.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is a presence server.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is an instant messaging server.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the application-level connection is established by the client logging on to the server.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the server is in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients and wherein the application-level connection is established by the client logging on to the server.

9. A computer-readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions for controlling a client to establish a connection with a server, the client having an application layer and a service layer, the application layer using a session initiation protocol (“

SIP”

) and the service layer using a communication-level protocol that is different from the session initiation protocol, the client and the server being computing devices, by a method comprising;

under control of the application layer executing at the client, providing to the service layer a SIP INVITE request to establish a first application-level connection with a first server using the session initiation protocol; and

under control of the service layer executing at the client,

providing to the application layer services for accessing the first server including a service for, upon being provided with the SIP INVITE request, sending to the first server using the communication-level protocol the SIP INVITE request to establish the first application-level connection between the client and the first server;

detecting that the client is no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection;

after detecting that the client is no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection, attempting to establish a second application-level connection between the client and a second server without notifying the application layer that the client is no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection by sending to the second server using the communication-level protocol a SIP INVITE request to establish a second application-level connection with the second server;

when the second application-level connection is established with the second server, resuming the providing of services to the application layer; and

when the second application-level connection is not established with the second server, notifying the application layer that the client no longer has the first application-level connection to the first server;

wherein the service layer that uses the communication-level protocol establishes the second application-level connection to the second server without notifying the application layer that it was detected that the client was no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection and without notifying the application layer that the second application-level connection was established with the second server; and

wherein a communications layer controls the transport of application-level messages to the servers via a communications-level connection and wherein the client is no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection when the communications-level connection is broken.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the first server and the second server are in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients and the first server is different from the second server.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client is no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection, delaying the performing of the requested service until the second application-level connection is established.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client is no longer connected to the first server via the first application-level connection, notifying the application layer that the service is temporarily unavailable.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the first server and the second server are presence servers.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the first server and the second server are instant messaging servers.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the first application-level connection is established by the client logging on to the server.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the first server is in a pool of servers that each provide services to clients and wherein the first application-level connection is established by the client logging on to the first server.

17. A client computing device for establishing a connection with a server computing device, the client computing device having an application layer and a service layer, the application layer using a session initiation protocol (“

SIP”

) and the service layer using a communication-level protocol that is different from the session initiation protocol, comprising;

a memory storing computer-executable instructions of;

a component that, under control of the application layer, provides to the service layer a SIP INVITE request to establish an application-level connection with the server computing device using the session initiation protocol; and

a component that, under control of the service layer,

provides to the application layer services for accessing the server computing device including a service for, upon being provided with the SIP INVITE request, sending to the server computing device using the communication-level protocol the SIP INVITE request to establish the application-level connection between the client computing device and the server computing device;

detects that the client computing device is no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection;

in response to detecting that the client computing device is no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection, attempts to re-establish the application-level connection between the client computing device and the server computing device without notifying the application layer that the client computing device is no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection by sending to the server computing device using the communication-level protocol a SIP INVITE request to re-establish the application-level connection with the server computing device;

in response to the application-level connection being re-established with the server computing device, resumes the providing of services to the application layer; and

in response to the application-level connection being not re-established with the server computing device, notifies the application layer that the client computing device no longer has the application-level connection to the server computing device;

wherein the service layer that uses the communication-level protocol re-establishes the application-level connection to the server computing device without notifying the application layer that it was detected that the client computing device was no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection and without notifying the application layer that the application-level connection was re-established with the server computing device; and

wherein a communications layer controls the transport of application-level messages to the server computing device via a communications-level connection and wherein the client computing device is no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection when the communications-level connection is broken; and

a processor for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory.

18. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein the server computing device is in a pool of server computing devices that each provide services to client computing devices.

19. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client computing device is no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection, delaying the performing of the requested service until the application-level connection is re-established.

20. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein when the service layer receives a request from the application layer to perform a service while the client computing device is no longer connected to the server computing device via the application-level connection, notifying the application layer that the service is temporarily unavailable.

21. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein the server computing device is a presence server.

22. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein the server computing device is an instant messaging server.

23. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein the application-level connection is established by the client computing device logging on to the server computing device.

24. The client computing device of claim 17 wherein the server computing device is in a pool of server computing devices that each provide services to client computing devices and wherein the application-level connection is established by the client computing device logging on to the server computing device.