Peer networking host framework and hosting API

• US 7,774,477 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2006
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pather, Shyamalan, Weisman, Daniel R., Rude, Christopher M., Bendixen, Mason K., Rao, Ravi T., Zintel, William Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin; Kenny S
• Application Number:
  US11/336,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20060123124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,664 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227, 709/228, 709/230
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A device hosting framework provides hosting for software-implemented logical devices (including peripheral devices bridges) on a computer to expose their services as controlled devices per a peer networking protocol. The device hosting framework encapsulates discovery, description and control protocol operations of the peer networking protocol, which frees the developers of the hosted devices from having to individually implement the peer networking protocol in the hosted devices'"'"' software and need implement only the core functionality of the hosted device. The device hosting framework operates as a host supporting device interoperability via the peer networking protocol for multiple hosted devices.

Claims

1. In a network of computing devices interoperating via a peer networking protocol, a method of peer networking protocol hosting for a group of logical devices such that the computing devices on the network are able to interoperate with the hosted logical devices via the peer networking protocol, the method comprising:

in a computing device with software installed thereon for a peer networking host having an implementation of the peer networking protocol and with a software program installed thereon that implements a controllable logical device having a set of device services, providing an application programming interface associated with the peer networking host software for invoking by the software program that implements the controllable logical device, which the controllable logical device registers with the peer networking host by providing device and service descriptions, to obtain peer network protocol hosting of the controllable logical device and the device services of the hosted controllable logical device from the peer networking host via the application programming interface, the software program that implements the controllable logical device otherwise lacking capacity to interoperate via the peer networking protocol on its own, the software program of the controllable logical device providing descriptive data of the hosted controllable logical device and the device services of the hosted controllable logical device to the peer networking host via the application programming interface;

proxying discovery and description requests per the peer networking protocol from controlling devices on the network directed to discovery and description of the hosted controllable logical devices within the peer networking host, wherein said discovery and description requests are addressed to the hosted controllable logical devices and the peer networking host responds to the discovery and description requests with the provided device and service descriptions;

proxying service control requests per the peer networking protocol from controlling devices on the network directed to the device services of the hosted controllable logical device within the peer networking host, wherein the peer networking host invokes the respective device service of the hosted controllable logical device responsive to a particular service control request; and

communicating events sourced from the hosted controllable logical device by the peer networking host to the network in accordance with the peer networking protocol.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the proxying of the service control requests comprises converting the service control requests from the peer networking protocol into an invocation per an object automation protocol to the respective device service.

3. A general purpose computer comprising:

a processor, data storage, data input/output, and networking hardware resources;

a peer networking host client executing on the computer to provide a controllable logical device having a set of services;

a peer networking hosting application programming interface for access by the peer networking host client to obtain hosting of peer networking operability for the controllable logical device;

a peer networking host accessible to the peer networking host client via the peer networking hosting application programming interface and operating responsive to said access by the peer networking host client to expose the services of the hosted controllable logical device to peer networking operability with one or more controlling peer devices networked with the computer, the controllable logical device otherwise lacking capacity to interoperate with the controlling peer devices independent of the peer networking host, wherein the hosted controllable logical device registers with the peer networking host by providing description information about the hosted controllable logical device to the peer networking host, and wherein the peer networking host is configured to respond to discovery and description requests from the one or more controlling peer devices networked with the computer directed towards the registered hosted controllable logical device and addressed to the hosted controllable logical device using the provided information about the hosted controllable device.

4. The general purpose computer of claim 3 wherein the peer networking host client implements the set of services as program objects, and the peer networking host provides an object automation proxy operating to convert between communications according to a service control peer networking protocol and service invocations according to an object automation model.

5. A computer-readable storage medium having a software program encoded thereon and executable on a computer in a distributed network of peer computing devices for remotely exposing software-provided controllable logical device services available via an object integration interface to remote control via a service control protocol using peer networking connectivity, the software-provided controllable logical device services being implemented by logical device software on the computer, the service control protocol defining communications between user control point nodes and controlled device nodes in a distributed network of computing devices permitting control of the controllable logical device services of the controlled device nodes from the user control point nodes, the software program comprising:

a peer networking host module for exposing the controllable logical device services as controlled device node services to the user control points via the service control protocol, wherein the controllable logical device services are registered with the peer networking host module by providing device descriptions and service descriptions of the controllable logical device services via the software-provided controllable logical device services invoking an application programming interface associated with the peer networking host module, the controllable logical device services otherwise lacking capacity to interoperate with the user control point nodes independent of the peer networking host module, and wherein the peer networking host module is configured to respond to discovery and description requests from one or more of the user control point nodes directed towards the controlled device nodes with the provided device descriptions and service descriptions of the controllable logical device services; and

an object automation proxy in an application programming interface operable to communicate between the peer networking host module and the controlled device nodes, the object automation proxy converting communications in the service control protocol directed towards the exposed controlled device node services from the user control points into invocations of the logical device services via the object integration interface.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 wherein the object integration interface is a run-time invocation dispatching interface.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 further having a computer-executable conversion utility software program encoded thereon, the conversion utility software program comprising:

code to input a service description of a controllable service of a controllable logical device in a peer networking protocol;

code to convert the service description of the controllable service of the controllable logical device into an interface definition per an interface description language; and

code to output the interface definition in a form compilable into a programming object automation interface to expose the service description of the controllable service of the controllable logical device to a user control device over a network.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein the code to convert converts the service description into an interface definition of a run-time invocation dispatching interface.