Technique for determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9274846-B2
Application number	US-201013379906-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2010
Priority date	Jun 22, 2009
Publication date	Mar 1, 2016
Grant date	Mar 1, 2016

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service. The functions are designed to be interconnected in order to supply the service to a client entity in a communications network. The method includes the following steps implemented by a determination device: receiving from an access node to the service a temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service requested by the client entity together with a context associated with the client entity; determining an action to be performed on the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service as a function of the context associated with the client entity; implementing the determined action on the temporary chain in order to obtain a final chain of individual functions; and sending the final chain to the service access node. This method can be implemented for supplying the service to the client entity.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service, said individual functions being designed to be interconnected in order to provide said service to a client entity in a communications network, said method comprising the following acts:
a client entity sending an access request to an access node to said service;
in response to receiving the access request, the access node sending to a determination device a temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service requested by the client entity together with a context associated with the client entity; and
the following acts implemented by the determination device:
determining an action to be performed on the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service as a function of the context associated with the client entity, wherein the context associated with the client belongs to the group comprising at least one of an identifier of the user of the client entity, a type of network access or a type of terminal;
implementing the determined action on the temporary chain in order to obtain a final chain of individual functions; and
sending the final chain to said access node to said service.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said action to be performed belongs to the group comprising at least: a deletion; an addition; a replacement.

3. The method according to claim 1 , including verifying whether said client entity is authorized to access said service, and wherein implementing the determined action is executed when the client entity is authorized to access the service.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further including obtaining at least one rule relating to the context associated with the client entity, and in which the action to be performed on the temporary chain is also determined as a function of said rule.

5. A determination device for determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service, said individual functions being designed to be interconnected in order to supply said messages to a client entity in a communications network, said device comprising:
receiver means for receiving, from an access node to said service, an access request of the client entity to said service and a temporary chain of individual functions supplied by the access node and associated with the service requested by the client entity, together with a context associated with the client entity;
determination means for determining an action to be performed on the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service, as a function of the context associated with the client entity, wherein the context associated with the client entity belongs to the group comprising at least one of an identifier of the user of the client entity, a type of network access or a type of terminal;
implementation means for implementing the determined action on the temporary chain in order to obtain a final chain of individual functions; and
sender means for sending the final chain to said access node.

6. A service access node comprising:
receiver means for receiving from a client entity a service access request, said request including a context associated with the client entity, wherein the context associated with the client entity belongs to the group comprising at least one of an identifier of the user of the client entity, a type of network access or a type of terminal;
obtaining means for, in response to receiving the service access request from the client entity, obtaining a temporary chain of individual functions associated with said service;
sender means for sending to a device, for determining a chain of individual functions, said service access request and said temporary chain of individual functions together with a context associated with the client entity; and
receiver means for receiving from said device a final chain of individual functions.

7. A system for processing a service access request made by a client entity, the system comprising:
at least one service access node comprising:
receiver means for receiving from a client entity a service access request, said request including a context associated with the client entity, wherein the context associated with the client entity belongs to the group comprising at least one of an identifier of the user of the client entity, a type of network access or a type of terminal;
obtaining means for, in response to receiving the service access request from the client entity, obtaining a temporary chain of individual functions associated with said service;
sender means for sending a temporary chain of individual functions together with a context associated with the client entity; and
receiver means for receiving a final chain of individual functions; and

a determination device comprising:
receiver means for receiving from said service access node the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service access request, together with the context associated with the client entity;
determination means for determining an action to be performed on the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service access request, as a function of the context associated with the client entity;
implementation means for implementing the determined action on the temporary chain in order to obtain the final chain of individual functions; and
sender means for sending the final chain to said service access node.

8. A system according to claim 7 for processing an access request, the system further including a database storing at least rules relating to context associated with client entities.

9. A non-transitory hardware storage medium comprising a computer program stored thereon and including instructions for implementing a method for determining a chain of individual functions associated with a service by means of a determination device when the program is executed by a processor, said individual functions being designed to be interconnected in order to provide said service to a client entity in a communications network, wherein the method comprises:
receiving from an access node to said service an access request of the client entity to said service and a temporary chain of individual functions supplied by the access node and associated with the service requested by the client entity, together with a context associated with the client entity;
determining an action to be performed on the temporary chain of individual functions associated with the service as a function of the context associated with the client entity, wherein the context associated with the client entity belongs to the group comprising at least one of an identifier of the user of the client entity, a type of network access or a type of terminal;
implementing the determined action on the temporary chain in order to obtain a final chain of individual functions; and
sending the final chain to said access node to said service.

Assignees

• Radier Benoit
• Salaun Mikaël
• Klenk Andreas
• Kleis Michael
• France Telecom

Inventors

• Radier Benoit
• Salaun Mikaël
• Klenk Andreas
• Kleis Michael

Classifications

• G06F9/5055 Primary

  considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine · CPC title

• G06F9/5038

  considering the execution order of a plurality of tasks, e.g. taking priority or time dependency constraints into consideration (scheduling strategies G06F9/4881 and subgroups) · CPC title

• H04L67/2809

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L67/562

  Brokering proxy services · CPC title