Methods and systems for validating real time network communications

• US 9,280,751 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Live Nation Entertainment Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Live Nation Entertainment Incorporated
• Inventors: Smith, Michael, Giannantonio, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Allen J
• Application Number:
  US14/553,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20150081352A1
• Time in Patent Office: 469 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

Methods and systems for managing network communications are described. An example resource management system includes a communications manager configured to access information regarding communication protocols used by corresponding broker systems and to provide message translations based on an origin and/or destination of the message to be transmitted. A message processor is coupled to the communications manager and is configured to serialize incoming and/or outgoing broker messages and to facilitate queuing of incoming and outgoing message traffic with broker systems. A communications configurer is configured to track one or more communication attributes of broker systems and changes thereto to ensure communications between the resource management systems are broker systems are conducted in accordance with the communication attributes of the broker systems. A communications rules provider is configured to determine which broker system is to be communicated with in order to fulfill a resource request.

Claims

1. A method for managing network communications, comprising:

receiving a first request for a ticket from a requester at a ticket system, wherein the ticket system comprises a search user interface for performing a search using one or more search criteria specified by the requester;

sending a second request for a resource from the ticket system, the ticket system coupled to a plurality of broker systems, wherein;

the ticket system is an independent platform which is physically separate from the plurality of broker systems,

at least one broker system in the plurality of broker systems is operated by a different entity than an entity operating the ticket system, and

the at least one broker system in the plurality of broker systems maintains a different inventory of resources than another broker system in the plurality of broker systems;

maintaining a ticket data store storing ticket identifiers and associated real-time status information;

monitoring a communication status with each of the plurality of broker systems that reflects whether one or more expected signals have been received over a communication link between the ticket system and the broker system;

identifying a communication status with a first broker system from amongst the plurality of broker systems as being unsatisfactory;

inhibiting the offering of tickets from the first broker system;

identifying a second broker system, from amongst the plurality of broker systems and using the ticket data store, that controls the ticket;

querying the second broker system controlling the ticket;

formatting a message comprising discounted price associated with the ticket;

transmitting the message over a network to the requester using the ticket system;

receiving a third request to purchase the ticket;

receiving payment information for the ticket from the requester at the ticket system;

verifying the payment information for the ticket from the requester at the ticket system;

receiving an indication from the ticket system that indicates that the ticket has been identified as sold for the requester; and

facilitating the transfer of the ticket with a barcode to the requester.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving communication protocol information from the plurality of broker systems, wherein the at least one broker system of the plurality of broker systems uses a different communication protocol than at least one other broker system of the plurality of broker systems;

at least partly based on the communication protocol information, identifying the communication protocol associated with the plurality of broker systems; and

formatting the message in accordance with the identified communication protocol.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first request specifies a quantity of tickets greater than one.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the message comprises a list of search results for the ticket.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein the list of search results comprises event name, date, time, venue, seat section, and seat row.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the ticket is an event admission voucher.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the ticket includes an association between a user identification device and a right to access an event stored in a data store.

8. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising at least partly causing at least one software application on the plurality of broker systems to be updated.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first request for the ticket includes:

a ticket quantity; and

a ticket identifier.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the one or more search criteria are chosen from a group consisting of geographical area;

event type;

quantity;

minimum price; and

maximum price.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the ticket system initiates communication with the plurality of broker systems.

12. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising transmitting code configured to execute on the plurality of broker systems, wherein the code marks a specified ticket as sold in response to a communication from the ticket system.

13. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the ticket identifiers is chosen from a group consisting of event name;

event time;

event day;

ticket seating information;

venue; and

ticket price.

14. A system for managing network communications, comprising:

a computing device;

programmatic code stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, that when executed by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices is configured to cause the computing system to perform operations comprising;

receiving a first request for a ticket from a requester at a ticket system, wherein the ticket system comprises a search user interface for performing a search using one or more search criteria specified by the requester;

sending a second request for a resource from the ticket system, the ticket system coupled to a plurality of broker systems, wherein;

the ticket system is an independent platform which is physically separate from the plurality of broker systems,

at least one broker system in the plurality of broker systems is operated by a different entity than an entity operating the ticket system, and

the at least one broker system in the plurality of broker systems maintains a different inventory of resources than another broker system in the plurality of broker systems;

maintaining a ticket data store storing ticket identifiers and associated real-time status information;

monitoring a communication status with each of the plurality of broker systems that reflects whether one or more expected signals have been received over a communication link between the ticket system and the broker system;

identifying a communication status with a first broker system from amongst the plurality of broker systems as being unsatisfactory;

inhibiting the offering of tickets from the first broker system;

identifying a second broker system, from amongst the plurality of broker systems and using the ticket data store, that controls the ticket;

querying the second broker system controlling the ticket;

formatting a message comprising discounted price associated with the ticket;

transmitting the message over a network to the requester using the ticket system;

receiving a third request to purchase the ticket;

receiving payment information for the ticket from the requester at the ticket system;

verifying the payment information for the ticket from the requester at the ticket system;

receiving an indication from the ticket system that indicates that the ticket has been identified as sold for the requester; and

facilitating the transfer of the ticket with a barcode to the requester.

15. The system as defined in claim 14, the operations further comprising:

receiving communication protocol information from a plurality of resale systems, wherein at least one resale system uses a different communication protocol than at least one other resale system;

at least partly based on the communication protocol information, identifying the communication protocol associated with the plurality of resale systems; and

formatting the message in accordance with the identified communication protocol.

16. The system as defined in claim 14, wherein the ticket is an event admission voucher.

17. The system as defined in claim 14, wherein the ticket includes an association between a user identification device and a right to access an event stored in a data store.

18. The system as defined in claim 14, wherein the first request for a ticket includes:

a ticket quantity; and

a ticket identifier.

19. Non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that when executed by a computing system are configured to cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:

receiving a first request for a ticket from a requester at a ticket system, wherein the ticket system comprises a search user interface for performing a search using one or more search criteria specified by the requester;

sending a second request for a resource from the ticket system, the ticket system coupled to a plurality of broker systems, wherein;

the ticket system is an independent platform which is physically separate from the plurality of broker systems,

at least one broker system in the plurality of broker systems is operated by a different entity than an entity operating the ticket system, and

the at least one broker system in the plurality of broker systems maintains a different inventory of resources than another broker system in the plurality of broker systems;

maintaining a ticket data store storing ticket identifiers and associated real-time status information;

monitoring a communication status with each of the plurality of broker systems that reflects whether one or more expected signals have been received over a communication link between the ticket system and the broker system;

identifying a communication status with a first broker system from amongst the plurality of broker systems as being unsatisfactory;

inhibiting the offering of tickets from the first broker system;

identifying a second broker system, from amongst the plurality of broker systems and using the ticket data store, that controls the ticket;

querying the second broker system controlling the ticket;

formatting a message comprising discounted price associated with the ticket;

transmitting the message over a network to the requester using the ticket system;

receiving a third request to purchase the ticket;

receiving payment information for the ticket from the requester at the ticket system;

verifying the payment information for the ticket from the requester at the ticket system;

receiving an indication from the ticket system that indicates that the ticket has been identified as sold for the requester; and

facilitating the transfer of the ticket with a barcode to the requester.

20. The non-transitory computer readable memory as defined in claim 19, the operations further comprising:

receiving communication protocol information from a plurality of resale systems, wherein at least one resale system uses a different communication protocol than at least one other resale system;

at least partly based on the communication protocol information, identifying the communication protocol associated with the plurality of resale systems; and

formatting the message in accordance with the identified communication protocol.