Method and system for managing remote clients in a network constituted by a central server

Method and system for managing remote clients in a network constituted by a central server Technical field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the exchange of information in a network.

Background technique

[0002] Multicast networks can enable messages to be sent to a group of target clients that form a subset of all networked clients. Generally speaking, multicasting is accomplished by, for example, including the addresses of all relevant clients that are addressed in the header.

[0003] Broadcast network operators can use a server or a headend of a multicast network to control a group or a single broadcast receiver client platform in order to initiate a network management session. These sessions can be used to upload network management information to the head-end server. This allows network operators to manage the exchange of network management information in a very scalable manner.

Summary of the invention

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a method that can exchange information between a client and a server, a head end, or a broadcast network operator.

[0005] To this end, a method according to the present invention includes: receiving a message addressed to the client from a server on a client; scheduling a data upload session based on the message; assigning a separate identifier to the client, These clients constitute a client set including the client; assign a group identifier to a subset of the clients in the client set; and enable the clients in the set to determine whether a message is sent to The client is still sent to the subset.

[0006] An apparatus according to the present invention includes: a component for receiving a message addressed to the client from a server on a client; a component for scheduling a data upload session based on the message; Means for assigning individual identifiers to the client, and these clients constitute a client set including the client; a means for assigning group identifiers to a subset of clients in the client set; and for enabling the The client in the set can determine whether a message is sent to the client or to a component of the subset.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, the device includes means for sending a message to a client in a one-way messaging system.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus includes means for receiving a message containing an identifier that specifies a task to be performed on the storage device.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus includes means for receiving a message containing an identifier, the identifier indicating a change of a partition on the storage device.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the device includes means for finding an identifier in the message for designating an agent on the client to process the message, and for transferring The message is forwarded to the agent's component.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the device includes means for enabling the agent to upload data to the server via a reverse channel during a data upload session.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the device further includes a component for extracting the time of the request from the message and a component for uploading the data at the time of the request.

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[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, the device includes means for extracting an identifier for specifying the information to be uploaded to the server from the message, and for uploading the specified information To the server's component.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the message includes a server identifier, and the device includes means for uploading the data to the identified server.

Description of the drawings

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of software residing on the client shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 3 is residing on a server or head-end software in accordance with one embodiment of the process according to the present invention. FIG.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of software residing on the client shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of software residing on a server or headend according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of software residing on the client shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of software residing on a server or headend according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, a network may include at least one server, head end or network operator 10, and multiple clients 12 (only one is shown). The server 10 may be coupled to multiple clients (including the client 12) through a distribution system, and the distribution system may be based on a wired system or a wireless or broadcast system. Examples of such networks include television distribution networks such as digital video broadcasting systems.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present invention, the server 10 may communicate with the client 12 through the transmission device 14. The transmission device 14 may be in accordance with an analog or digital broadcasting system. For example, the transmission device 14 may be suitable for digital video broadcasting (DVB); the network independent protocol, ETS 300802, was provided by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETS) in Valbonne, France in November 1997. For example, the transmission device 14 may be a satellite, cable or radio wave broadcasting system.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the client 12 recognizes a message sent by the server 10 to the client 12 alone, or in some embodiments, the message comes from another client 12. Bandwidth can be saved by sending messages to a group of clients because there is no need to insert a huge number of individual identifiers for each of the addressed clients in the header.

[0025] In addition, the client 12 may include one or more addressable agents 44.45.46 and 48, which may be independently addressed by a remote unit such as the server 10. In addition, by providing addressable agents 44.45.46 and 48 within a given client 12, messages that are special or require special processing can be addressed to a specific agent residing on the client 12 for proper processing. .

[0026] The server 10 may include a network management command and control server 16. The server 16 is responsible for managing the collection of data from the client 12. The server 16 transmits a message containing a distinguishable service identifier (for example, service_id=0x02). The server 10 may also include an instant messaging or short message service (SMS) server 18, and the server 18 also transmits a message with a distinguishable service identifier (for example, service_id=0x04).

[0027] In addition, a client disk management server 20 may also be provided. The client disk management server 20 may transmit a message containing one or more distinguishable service identifiers (for example, service_id=0x01). In some cases, in order to initiate a desired function on the storage device of the client or the disk drive 43, various messages may be sent from the client disk management server 20. For example, separate service identifiers can be used for commands such as creating partitions, deleting partitions

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District commands or commands to modify partitions.

[0028] The data management session control server 21 may be responsible for handling the upload of data sets that are uniquely identifiable on the client on the available return channel connection 47. This is an important capability that allows network operators to manage data mining and the scalability of related servers. The one-way message service type and message identifier can be used for data management session control (DMSC) to manage the data management session of a group of clients or individual clients. By strategically assigning client identifiers to all broadcast receiver clients managed by the server 10 in the network, the one-way messaging service inherently supports such group management.

[0029] The data management session control server 21 transmits a message including one or more distinguishable service identifiers (for example, service_id=0x03). The server 21 creates a DMSC message data structure and transfers information and data to the one-way messaging server 22. The information and data are such as: dedicated data and data size, a unique client identifier, and a group of designated client identifiers. The mask is also the group flag of the Boolean variable of the individual client identifier, the service identifier value of the DMSC service, and the dedicated message identifier.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the server 10 may implement a one-way messaging system. In a one-way messaging system, the server 10 can transmit messages to multiple clients that cannot respond in any way. An example of such a network is a direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast network, which can adapt to the DVB protocol. As two examples, such networks can use connection-oriented communication protocols or connectionless real-time communication protocols. There are many applications for one-way messaging from the server to the client, for example, such as instant messaging, command and control, and notification and signaling. In other cases, the network may be a two-way network, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) multicast backbone network.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, the server 10 may include a unidirectional messaging server (UMS) 22, which is coupled to the servers 16.18.20 and 21 to generate messages in an appropriate format. The message transmitted by the UMS server 22 may include a message originally generated by one of the servers 16.18.20 or 21. The UMS server 22 can then be coupled to an Internet Protocol multicast module 24, which sets the message to the appropriate multicast protocol format. Finally, DVB Multi-Protocol Encapsulation (MPE) 26 is coupled to the Internet Protocol multicast module 24. MPE is described in the DVB specification for data broadcasting (EN 301192) and the service information (SI) specification in the DVB system (EN 300468 VI. 3. 1 1998-02). Both of the above specifications can be obtained from ETS get. The output of the DVB MPE 26 and the DVB Service Information (SI) generator 28 are coupled to the transmission device 14. Service information is digital data describing the delivery system, content, and scheduling/timing of broadcast data streams.

[0032] At the client terminal 12, the data stream from the DVB-SI generator 28 is coupled to the DVB-SI receiver 40 and the service capture module 38. The service capture module 38 extracts the program identifier (PID) and provides it to the DVB multiplexer 32. The tuner 30 can tune the client 12 to the appropriate channel corresponding to the extracted program identifier.

[0033] The message from the DVB MPE 26 is provided to the DVB MPE receiver 42. The receiver 42 communicates with the IP multicast module 40 and the one-way messaging server 38. The server 38 decomposes the message to determine whether the service identifier is included in the data stream. If so, forward the message to the appropriate agent designated to receive the message with the specific service identifier.

[0034] The disk management agent 44 may be coupled to a disk drive controller 47, which in turn is coupled to a storage device 43, which may be, for example, a hard drive. The disk management agent 44 can be addressed by the client disk management server 20 as the message recipient. The disk management agent 44 causes the process to proceed through the controller 47, and the controller 47 controls the use of the storage device 43. This control may include determining what kind of information is stored on the storage device 43 and how to store the information on the storage device 43.

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[0035] In an embodiment of the present invention, the network management command and control server 16 may provide a specific message identifier, which allows its messages to be received by a network management session management agent 48 tuned to the specific service identifier. Similarly, messages from the instant messaging server 18 may include a service identifier, which causes those messages to be forwarded to the proxy 48 in the client 12. Likewise, messages from the data management session control server 21 may have an appropriate identifier, which allows these messages to be diverted to the data management session control agent 45 on the client 12.

[0036] The server 10 may include a storage device 25 that stores software 134.70 and 102 for controlling the operation of the server 22. Likewise, the server 38 on the client 12 may be coupled to a storage device 43 that stores software 50.82 and 114 for controlling the operation of the server 38. The servers 22 and 38 may also be processor-based systems.

[0037] Turning now to FIG. 2, the software 50 on the client 12 initially receives the one-way messaging server address and port from the server 10. As shown in block 52, the client 12 may also be assigned a client identifier. In this way, an Internet Protocol multicast system can be established in which each client has a UMS address and port and a unique client identifier assigned by the server 10. In some embodiments, the server 10 can dynamically adjust the address and port and the client identifier, so that a specific message, a message group, or some types of messages can be delivered to a specific client in a dynamic and reconfigurable manner.

[0038] After receiving its address, port and client identifier, the receiver of the client 12 joins a multicast group and listens for messages specifically addressed to it or to any group to which the client 12 belongs , As shown in block 54.

[0039] The disk management agent 44 registers its service identifier with the UMS server 38, as shown in block 56. When the UMS server 38 receives the packet with the UMS message, as shown in block 58, it checks to determine whether the specific client 12 is the intended recipient, as shown in the diamond block 60. If not, the message is discarded, as shown in block 62.

[0040] However, if the particular client 12 is the intended recipient, the server 38 detects the service identifier of the message and delivers the message to the correct agent 44.46 or 48, as shown in block 64. The message is then transmitted to the appropriate agent 44, as shown in block 66. In the agent 44, the information is analyzed and passed to the appropriate process for processing, as shown in block 68.

[0041] For example, when addressed, the disk management agent 44 sends appropriate commands to the controller 47 in order to provide a relay for the storage device 43. Depending on the service identifier attached to the message, the agent 44 can provide the appropriately converted command to the controller 47, such as a command to create a partition, a command to delete a partition, or a command to modify a partition. Each of these commands can be assigned a separate service identifier value, such as 0x03.0x04 and 0x05. The disk management agent 44 can convert the message with the service identifier into a format appropriate for the controller 47 based on the message received from the client disk management server 20. For example, for a message containing a service identifier value of 0x03, the agent 44 may issue a command to the controller 47 to partition the storage device 43.

[0042] On the server side, as shown in FIG. 3, the network software 70 initially assigns multicast addresses and ports to multiple clients 12 for one-way messaging services, as shown in block 72. The server 10 can also assign client identifiers in a dynamic and reconfigurable manner. These addresses, ports, and client identifiers are then transferred to the client, as shown in block 74.

[0043] Thereafter, the disk management server 20 may create a data structure and transfer the data structure to the server 22, as shown in block 76. The server 22 creates a one-way message and assigns the client value, sets the group flag and copies the private data into the private bytes of the message, as shown in block 78. More specifically, a unique client identifier can be assigned. The client identifier can be a specific client identifier that is pre-allocated, or, for example, if multiple clients are targeted

0. The group flag can be a Boolean value that specifies whether the client identifier is a group mask or a specific identifier. The group mask is an identifier that identifies a subset of clients 12 in the network. This subset may include multiple clients, but is less than the total number of addressable clients.

[0044] As an example of a one-way message header, the message can contain several variables, including: group_mask, service_id, version_id, message_id, and private_data_byte (group mask, service identifier, version identifier, message identifier, and proprietary data) byte). In an embodiment of the present invention, group_mask may include 64 bits, service_id may include 8 bits, version_id may include 16 bits, message_id may include 8 bits, and private_data_byte may include 8 bits. version_id is the version of the one-way messaging protocol and can be initially set to 0. service_id can be a service identifier, for example, for an instant messaging service, it can be 0x02. Advantageously, the size of the message does not exceed 1024 bytes in order to eliminate potential datagram fragmentation. The group_filter can be combined with the client_id field to limit the size of the proprietary data bytes required by the application. According to the DVB specification, in addition to private_data_byte which can contain a bit string (bslbf) identifier whose left digit is the first bit, each header item can contain an unsigned integer (uimsbf) identifier whose most significant bit is the first digit.

[0045] As shown in block 80, the message is then sent to all clients 12 in the network. Each client then determines whether the message is intended for that client. The client 12 determines whether the message is a specific intended recipient by determining whether the message is addressed by the client identifier of the client 12. For example, using an "AND" logical operator between the identifier of the message and the identifier of the client, the client 12 can determine whether the client 12 is in a group of clients jointly addressed by the server 10.

[0046] In an embodiment of the present invention, different user groups may receive a common client identifier element. Therefore, multiple clients whose owners have subscribed for enhanced services can include the common code part in their client identifiers. When a message containing the common code part of the client identifier is received, each of those clients accepts the message. Likewise, clients that are located in a specific geographic area, have specific interests, or are otherwise identifiable can be given a unique prefix/suffix or identifier code portion. The code part can perform a logical AND operation with group_mask to determine whether a specific client is a member of the target group.

[0047] The management message header may also include a field addressing the disk management generation 44, such as a volume_name_len field, which provides a volume, name, length, and bytes for a related volume of the storage device 45 in the form of a hard disk drive. In an embodiment of the present invention, this field may be 8 bits long and may have a bs lbf identifier. In addition, the volume_name_byte field can give volume name bytes, and the volume name bytes constitute the name of the volume to be mounted on which the partition is created. In one embodiment of the present invention, this field may be 8 bits long and may contain a bslbf identifier. Finally, the partition_size field can give the size of the partition to be created in bytes. This field can be 32 bits in size and can use the uimsbf identifier. Of course, additional fields and additional service identifiers can be used to implement additional additional commands to the client storage device 45.

[0048] In this way, the client disk management server 20 can control how to set up and use the storage device 43 on the target client 12 or the group of target clients 12 according to the instructions of the server or the headend 10. Each client 12 can be individually addressed, the entire set of clients can be addressed, or any subset of clients can be addressed collectively so that their storage devices 45 can be modified individually or collectively. Therefore, the storage devices 43 of one or more clients can be selectively controlled by the server 10.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 4, in order to implement a network management session, the software 82 on the client 12 initially receives the one-way messaging server address and port from the server 10. The client 12 may also be assigned a client identifier, as shown in block 84. This

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In this way, an Internet protocol multicast system can be established, in which each client has a UMS address and port assigned by the server 10 and a unique client identifier.

[0050] After receiving its address, port, and client identifier, the receiver of the client 12 joins the multicast group and listens for messages specifically addressed to it or to any group to which the client 12 belongs, such as block 86 shown.

[0051] The data management session control agent 45 registers its service identifier with the UMS server 38, as shown in block 88. When the UMS server 38 receives the packet with the UMS message, as shown in block 90, it is determined whether the specific client 12 is the intended recipient through detection, as shown in diamond 92. If not, the message is discarded, as shown in block 94.

[0052] However, if a particular client 12 is the intended recipient, the server 38 detects the server identifier of the message and transmits the message to the correct agent 45, as shown in block 64. The message is then transmitted to the appropriate agent 45, as shown in block 98. In the agent 45, the information is analyzed and passed to the appropriate process for processing, as shown in block 100.

[0053] The data management session control agent 45 receives the target message from the data management session control server 21, and as a response to it, provides the data requested by the server 21 through the reverse channel 47, for example. Therefore, in one embodiment, the agent 45 may receive a message with a specific syntax including ManagementMessage (), ManagementMessage () includes: group_mask, service_id, version_id, message_id, message_byte_count, and DMSessionControlMessage(), DMSessionControlMessage() and Including session_id, session_host_name, session_start_time, sessi on_durat ion and data_id.

[0054] session_id is a unique session identifier. server_host_name is a string of the host name of the data management server used to establish the connection. session_start_time is the date and time when the client 12 establishes a session. session_duration is the time that the server 21 will accept the start time of the session and provide a time window (if necessary). data_id is a unique identifier of the information or data set to be exchanged during the session. The method of managing and distributing the information and/or data of the identifier is application-specific.

[0055] In this way, the server 21 can initiate a message to the client 12, which causes the client 12 to start uploading the specified data at the specified time. That is, the server 21 can specify a header containing session_id, server_host_name, sessi on_s t ar t ime, sessi on_dur at ion and data_id, and as a response to it, the data management session control agent 45 collects the requested information and sends it to the request The moments are provided on request.

[0056] The server 21 may provide messages with different message identifiers, including, for example, a session creation message, a session deletion message, and a session update message. The session delete message only deletes the previously created session, while the session update message enables additional information to be provided to the scheduled session.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present invention, group_mask may include 64 bits in the uimsbf identifier. The session_id may include 8 bits in the uimsbf identifier. The version_id may include 16 bits in the uimsbf identifier. message_id may include 8 bits and the identifier is 0x0lo message_byte_count may include 16 bits in the uimsbf identifier. In one embodiment, DataManagementSessionControlMessage() may include the following syntax: 8-bit session_id, 64-bit session_start_time, 32-bit session_dur at ion, and 32-bit data_id, all of which follow the uimsbf identifier format. For the bslbf identifier, DataManagementSessionControlMessa ge () can also include a 128-bit server_host_name

[0058] On the server side, as shown in FIG. 5, the network software 102 initially allocates multicast addresses and ports to provide one-way messaging services to multiple clients 12, as shown in block 104. The server 10 can also assign client identifiers in a dynamic and reconfigurable manner. These addresses, ports, and client identifiers are then transferred to the client, as shown in block 106.

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[0059] Thereafter, the data management session control server 21 may create a data structure and transfer this data structure to the server 22, as shown in block 108. The server 22 creates a one-way message and assigns the client value, sets the group flag, and copies the private data into the private bytes of the message, as shown in block 110. More specifically, a unique client identifier can be assigned. The client identifier may be a specific pre-allocated client identifier, or, for example, may be 0 when multiple clients are targeted. The group flag can be a Boolean value that specifies whether the client identifier is a group mask or a specific identifier. The group mask is an identifier that identifies a subset of clients 12 in the network. This subset can contain multiple clients, but is less than the total number of addressable clients.

[0060] As shown in block 112, the message is then sent to all clients 12 in the network. Each client then determines whether the message is intended for that client. The client 12 determines whether it is a specific intended recipient by determining whether the message is addressed to the client identifier of the client 12. For example, the client 12 can determine whether the client 12 belongs to a group of clients jointly addressed by the server 10 by using an "AND" logical operator between the identifier of the message and the identifier of the client.

[0061] The network management command and control server 16 and the network session management agent 48 work together. When a message generated at the request of the server 16 is directed to the agent 48, the agent 48 calls the session manager 49. In one embodiment of the present invention, the session manager may provide the desired management information in the reverse channel 43 in a predetermined format.

[0062] A network management session is generally used to upload network management information to the server 16. For example, the management information base (MIB) can be uploaded in the return channel 43 using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). As shown in FIG. 6, the operation of the agent 48 generally corresponds to the description of the agents 44 and 45 above. That is, the UMS address, port, and client identifier are received, as shown in block 116, the receiver joins the multicast group and listens for messages, as shown in block 118, and the network session management agent 48 registers its information with the UMS receiver The service identifier is shown in block 120. The UMS receiver then receives the data packet with the message, as shown in block 122.

[0063] The test made at diamond 124 determines whether a particular agent 48 is the intended recipient. If not, the message is discarded, as shown in block 126. Otherwise, the receiver detects the service identifier and transmits the message to the agent 48, as shown in block 130. The information is analyzed and transmitted to the session manager 49. The session manager 49 then uses the channel 43 and the server 16 to schedule the session together.

[0064] The message format is basically the same as that used by DMSC. However, instead of having DMSessionControlMessage(), NMSessionControlMessage() contains the info_ID field. The info_ID field is a unique identifier of the information or data set exchanged during the session. The method of managing and distributing information and/or data set identifiers is application specific. For example, if the client manages multiple MIBs, a specific SNMP client MIB can be identified for uploading to the server.

[0065] MIB is information on an agent called a management information base. This information is the basis for incident reporting. The MIB standard is proposed in RFC1229 issued by the Network Working Group (May 1991), for example.

[0066] Next, turning to FIG. 7, the operation of the network management server 16, using the software 134, generally corresponds to the foregoing description. Similarly, the multicast address and port of the UMS are assigned and the client identifier is also assigned, as shown in block 136, the UMS address and port and the client identifier are sent to the client, as shown in block 138, and the network The management command and control server 16 creates a data structure and transmits the data to the UMS server, as shown in block 140. The UMS server 22 then creates the UM message, assigns the client value, sets the group flag, and copies the proprietary data into the proprietary bytes of the message, as shown in block 142. Thereafter, the message is sent (block 144).

[0067] Then at a predetermined time, the server 16 receives scheduling information from the session manager 49. At the right moment, you can

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A session is provided, wherein MIB or other information is uploaded to the server 16 through the role of the agent 48 and the session manager 49. [0068] In an embodiment of the present invention, different user groups may receive a common client identifier element. Thus, multiple clients whose owners have subscribed for enhanced services can include the common code part in their client identifiers. When a message containing the common code portion of the client identifier is received, each of those clients accepts the message.

[0069] Although the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and changes from this. The appended claims should be regarded as covering all such modifications and changes that fall within the essence and scope of the present invention.