Remote device waking using a multicast packet

• US 9,927,858 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2016
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Garg, Sumit, Sridharan, Murari
• Primary Examiner(s): Oh, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US15/057,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20160182243A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/66 Layer 2 routing, e.g. in Ethernet based MAN's
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• 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 40/005 Routing actions in the presence of nodes in sleep or doze mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Sleeping device(s) may be changed from a sleeping state to an awake state using a multicast packet that sent to a multicast address of a multicast wake-up group. The packet may include an identifier for one or more particular device(s) in the multicast group, which, when received by the device(s), causes the device(s) to wake up.

Claims

1. A method performed on a computing device that includes at least one processor, memory, and a network communication module, the method comprising:

receiving, by the network communication module while the computing device is asleep, a multicast packet that is addressed to a multicast group that is dedicated to waking up devices, where a payload portion of the received multicast packet comprises a network address of each of a plurality of devices to be woken, and where at least one of the plurality of network addresses of the devices to be woken in the payload portion of the received multicast packet is an internet protocol (“

IP”

) address; and

waking, by the network communication module in response to one of the plurality of network addresses matching a network address of the computing device and in response to the computing device being joined to the multicast group, the asleep computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 where the received multicast packet comprises authentication information that corresponds to at least one of the devices to be woken.

3. The method of claim 2 where the waking is conditioned at least in part on verifying the authentication information.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising responding, by the computing device, to a query message sent to the multicast group by a router.

5. The method of claim 1 where at least one of the plurality of network addresses of the devices to be woken in the received multicast packet is a media access control (“

MAC”

) address.

6. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor;

memory coupled to the at least one computing device;

a network address;

a network communication module configured to receive, while the computing device is asleep, a multicast packet that is directed to a multicast group that is dedicated to waking up devices, where a payload portion of the received multicast packet comprises a network address of each of a plurality of devices to be woken, and where at least one of the plurality of network addresses of the devices to be woken in the payload portion of the received multicast packet is an internet protocol (“

IP”

) address; and

the network communication module of the asleep computing device further configured wake, in response to one of the plurality of network addresses matching a network address of the computing device and in response to the computing device being joined to the multicast group, the asleep computing device.

7. The computing device of claim 6 where the received multicast packet comprises authentication information that corresponds to at least one of the devices to be woken.

8. The computing device of claim 7 where the waking is conditioned at least in part on verifying the authentication information.

9. The computing device of claim 6, the network communication module further configured to respond to a query message sent to the multicast group by a router.

10. The computing device of claim 6 where at least one of the plurality of network addresses of the devices to be woken in the received multicast packet is an media access control (“

MAC”

) address.

11. At least one computer readable storage apparatus storing computer executable instructions that, based on execution by a computing device that includes at least one processor, memory, a network address, and a network communication module, configure the computing device to perform actions comprising:

receiving, by the network communication module while the computing device is asleep, a multicast packet that is directed to a multicast group that is dedicated to waking up devices, where a payload portion of the received multicast packet comprises a network address of each of a plurality of devices to be woken, and where at least one of the plurality of network addresses of the devices to be woken in the payload portion of the received multicast packet is an internet protocol (“

IP”

) address; and

waking, by the network communication module in response to one of the plurality of network addresses matching a network address of the computing device and in response to the computing device being joined to the multicast group, the asleep computing device.

12. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 11 where the received multicast packet comprises authentication information that corresponds to at least one of the devices to be woken.

13. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 12 where the waking is conditioned at least in part on verifying the authentication information.

14. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 11 where the received multicast packet comprises a multicast address corresponding to the multicast group in a header portion of the multicast packet.

15. The at least one computer readable storage apparatus of claim 11, the actions further comprising responding, by the computing device, to a query message sent to the multicast group by a router.