Keep alive management

• US 9,736,050 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2016
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Anipko, Dmitry A., Gaddehosur, Poornananda R., Vanturennout, Jeroen, Rahman, Mohammad Saifur, Gatta, Srinivas Raghu, Srinivasan, Kamalavasan, Ertugay, Osman N., Thaler, David G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jacobs, Lashonda
• Application Number:
  US15/217,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20160330098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 709223, 709224, 709229, 370252, 370401
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0209 in terminal devices terminal devices per se H04W88/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Keep alive management techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a keep alive interval is calculated by an operating system of the computing device. The keep alive interval is used to maintain one or more notification channels between one or more applications of the computing device and a network.

Claims

1. A computing system comprising:

one or more processor; and

one or more storage device having stored computer-executable instructions which are executable by the one or more processors to implement a method for managing network interface devices, the method including;

exposing a first network interface device as available for communications using a network to one or more applications in response to the first network interface device being in a high power mode;

determine the first network interface device is transitioned to a low power mode;

enforcing a quiet mode for the first network interface device, in response to the first network interface device being transitioned to the low power mode, to help reduce power consumption and by at least refraining from exposing the first network interface device as available for communications using the network and by preventing at least one network packet addressed to the first network interface device from waking the first network interface device during the quiet mode;

exposing a second network interface device as available for the communications while the first network interface device is in the low power mode during the quiet mode; and

rerouting the at least one network packet addressed to the first network device that is received during the quiet mode and such that the at least one network packet is routed to the second network interface during the quiet mode.

2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the method further includes transitioning out of the quiet mode and transitioning the first network device from the low power mode to the high power mode after a predetermined period of time elapsing within the quiet mode.

3. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the method further includes transitioning out of the quiet mode and transitioning the first network device from the low power mode to the high power mode in response to a predetermined event other than a passage of time.

4. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the method further includes transitioning the first network interface device from the high power mode to the lower power mode as part of a power conservation process, while preserving the second network interface device in the high power mode for facilitating an Internet connection.

5. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the first network interface device is a Wi-Fi device.

6. The computing system of claim 5, wherein the second network interface device is a cellular device.

7. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the first and the second network interface devices are different types of devices.

8. A computer program product comprising one or more storage device having stored computer-executable instructions which are executable by one or more processors of a computing system to implement a method for managing network interface devices, the method including:

exposing a first network interface device as available for communications using a network to one or more applications in response to the first network interface device being in a high power mode;

determine the first network interface device is transitioned to a low power mode;

enforcing a quiet mode for the first network interface device, in response to the first network interface device being transitioned to the low power mode, to help reduce power consumption and by at least refraining from exposing the first network interface device as available for communications using the network and by preventing at least one network packet addressed to the first network interface device from waking the first network interface device during the quiet mode;

exposing a second network interface device as available for the communications while the first network interface device is in the low power mode during the quiet mode; and

rerouting the at least one network packet addressed to the first network device that is received during the quiet mode and such that the at least one network packet is routed to the second network interface during the quiet mode.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the method further includes transitioning out of the quiet mode and transitioning the first network device from the low power mode to the high power mode after a predetermined period of time elapsing within the quiet mode.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the method further includes transitioning out of the quiet mode and transitioning the first network device from the low power mode to the high power mode in response to a predetermined event other than a passage of time.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the method further includes transitioning the first network interface device from the high power mode to the lower power mode as part of a power conservation process, while preserving the second network interface device in the high power mode for facilitating an Internet connection.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first network interface device is a Wi-Fi device.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the second network interface device is a cellular device.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first and the second network interface devices are different types of devices.

15. A computer-implemented method for managing network interface devices, the method including:

exposing a first network interface device as available for communications using a network to one or more applications in response to the first network interface device being in a high power mode;

determine the first network interface device is transitioned to a low power mode;

enforce a quiet mode for the first network interface device, in response to the first network interface device being transitioned to the low power mode, to help reduce power consumption and by at least refraining from exposing the first network interface device as available for communications using the network and by preventing at least one network packet addressed to the first network interface device from waking the first network interface device during the quiet mode;

exposing a second network interface device as available for the communications while the first network interface device is in the low power mode during the quiet mode; and

rerouting the at least one network packet addressed to the first network device that is received during the quiet mode and such that the at least one network packet is routed to the second network interface during the quiet mode.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further includes transitioning out of the quiet mode and transitioning the first network device from the low power mode to the high power mode in response to a predetermined event other than a passage of time.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further includes transitioning the first network interface device from the high power mode to the lower power mode as part of a power conservation process, while preserving the second network interface device in the high power mode for facilitating an Internet connection.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the first network interface device is a Wi-Fi device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second network interface device is a cellular device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the first and the second network interface devices are different types of devices.