Multiplex communications – Channel assignment techniques – Polling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-10
2003-09-16
Yao, Kwang Bin (Department: 2662)
Multiplex communications
Channel assignment techniques
Polling
C370S346000, C370S352000, C370S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06621827
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to computer networking and, more particularly, to a service broker for processing data from a data network.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
For purposes of the present invention, the following terms as used throughout the specification have the following defined meanings:
Internet
The network of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol. A packet switching scheme the Internet uses to chop, route, and reconstruct the data it handles, from e-mail to video.
Client
A client is a computer which issues commands to the server which performs the task associated with the command.
Server
Any computer that performs a task at the command of another computer is a server. A Web server typically supports one or more clients.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
HTTP is an example of a stateless protocol, which means that every request from a client to a server is treated independently. The server has no record of previous connections. At the beginning of a URL, “http:” indicates the file contains hyperlinks.
Web Browser
A program running on a computer that acts as an Internet tour guide, complete with pictorial desktops, directories and search tools used when a user “surfs” the Internet. In this application the Web browser is a client service which communicates with the World Wide Web.
Data Source
An entity or set of entities which produces data of varying types, such as video, email, heartbeat transmissions, commands, and the like.
Moderator
A device, program, or the like that receives, stores, and forwards data. The moderator may possess each of the three functionalities in one entity or each functionality may be contained in separate devices. The moderator includes a data receiving system, a data storage system, and a data transmission system.
Data Store
An entity that can at least temporarily store data. A system in which data can be written to and retrieved.
Name/Value Pairs
An associative pair with two portions, the “name” part and the “value” part in which the “name” is related to the “value.” The value of the “name” is the “value.”
Field/Value Abstraction Layer
A method for transmitting an arbitrary number of name/value pairs within HTTP which encodes an arbitrary set of name/value pairs in other name/value pairs.
1. Base case: one name/value pair: “field 1”/“name 1” “field 2”/“value 1”
2. “field 3”/“name 2” “field 4”/“value 2”. . . “field (2n-1)”/“name n” “field (2n)”/“value n”
Virtual Representation
A representation in which a control of a device can be mapped to a representative or virtual control.
Control
Any physical, virtual, electronic, or logical entity which either causes an effective change in the real world, in a virtual space, or in software or gives an indication of an effective change in the real world, in a virtual space, or in software.
Data Transfer Protocol
Any method by which data is organized and transmitted from a sender to a receiver.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Networks have transformed the way people do computing. Someone with access to a personal computer or workstation can connect to the Internet and communicate with systems and people all over the world. The World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is a way of using the Internet that provides the user with access via linked documents to a wealth of information distributed throughout the globe. The WWW also allows users to execute programs running on remote servers. This capability enables users to obtain the results from programs which the user cannot run locally due to hardware and/or software limitations. It is also possible to download and run programs stored remotely on the World Wide Web. This has the potential to greatly increase the amount of software which is available to a computer connected to the World Wide Web.
Network
Network protocols provide standard methods for machines to communicate with one another. The protocols indicate how data should be formatted for receipt and transmission across networks. Heterogeneous machines can communicate seamlessly over a network via standard protocols. Examples of standard Internet protocols include: HTTP, see, e.g., “Hypertext Transfer Protocol—HTTP/1.0”, http://www.ics.uci.edu/pub/ietf/http/draft-ietf-http-v10-spec-03.html, by T. Berners-Lee, R. Fielding, and H. Frystyk, Sep. 4, 1995; SMTP, see, e.g, “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol”. RFC 821, J. B. Postel, Information Sciences Institute, USC, August 1982, http://ds.internic.net/std/std10.txt.; NNTP, see, e.g., “Network News Transfer Protocol: A Proposed Standard for the Stream-Based Transmission of News”, RFC 977, B. Kantor and P. Lapsley, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, February 1986, http://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc977.txt.; FTP, see e.g., J. Postel and J. K. Reynolds. “File Transfer Protocol (FTP)”, RFC 959, Information Sciences Institute, USC, October 1985, http://ds.intemic.net/std/std9.txt.; Gopher, see, e.g., F. Anklesaria, M. McCahill, P. Lindner, D. Johnson, D. Torrey, and B. Alberti. “The Internet Gopher Protocol: A distributed document search and retrieval protocol”, RFC 1436, University of Minnesota, March 1993, http://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1436.txt.; and WAIS, see, e.g., F. Davis, B. Kahle, H. Morris, J. Salem, T. Shen, R. Wang, J. Sui, and M. Grinbaum. “WAIS Interface Protocol Prototype Functional Specification” (v 1.5), Thinking Machines Corporation, April 1990.
The client-server model constitutes one of the dominant paradigms in network programming, see, e.g., W. R. Stevens, “Unix Network Programming”, Prentice Hall PTR, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1990; and D. E. Comer, “Internetworking with TCP/IP” vol 1., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1991 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A server program offers a service which can be accessed by multiple users over the network. A program becomes a client when it sends a message to a server and waits for a response from the server. The client process, which is typically optimized for user interaction, uses the requested service without having to know any of the detailed workings of the requested service or server. On the World Wide Web, “browsers” constitute client programs while the programs sending back information to the browser constitute server programs.
Data transfer between client and server can be achieved by many different TCP protocols such as File Transfer Protocol. In the recent years HTTP has become the defacto access protocol between web servers and client browsers. Due to HTTPs ubiquitous presence on the Internet most network administrators provide access methods for HTTP clients to gain access to Internet servers with HTTP services within their private net and gain access by users client browsers. HTTP is a stateless protocol; every request from the client to the server is treated independently. The server has no record of previous connections. The advantages of using stateless protocol are efficiency and simplicity.
Clients can send and receive data from an Internet based system, but in order to protect private or enterprise data, in many instances access to a server services are hidden behind a private net firewall or other protection mechanism and can only be accessed within the same network subnet. In such cases the server is not visible by common Internet clients. Additionally, services provided by ad hoc network servers, which can be based on mobile or temporary Internet services, require complex system administration and can create a challenge for the average individual. Other system and network issues include such matters as scalability, resource management, security, and access control, each requiring technical depth, lengthy lead time to assemble, and ongoing maintenance that can become costly. In most cases the user has to invest a great deal of time and expense. The services are limited and devices which provide services are not user friendly. The system setup and service access can present problems.
In virtually all client/server systems today, there exist two main entities which each play a crucial
Chen Jack L.
Rezvani Babak
Nguyen Hanh
Steinberg & Raskin, P.C.
Xanboo Inc.
Yao Kwang Bin
LandOfFree
Adaptive method for polling does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Adaptive method for polling, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Adaptive method for polling will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3089202