Efficient service advertisement and discovery in a peer-to-peer networking environment with cooperative advertisement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9306813-B2
Application number	US-79652410-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2010
Priority date	Dec 23, 2009
Publication date	Apr 5, 2016
Grant date	Apr 5, 2016

Abstract

Operating conditions of a remote device and operating conditions of a local device are compared, where the local device and the remote device are located within a predetermined proximity of a wireless network. An advertisement request is transmitted from the local device to the remote device based on the comparison of the operating conditions of the local device and the remote device. The advertisement request includes information identifying one or more services advertised by the local device, whereby the remote device is configured to advertise the one or more services on behalf of the local device in the wireless network.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A machine-implemented method for advertising services in a peer-to-peer networking environment, the method comprising:
while advertising, by a local device, one or more services of the local device, comparing operating conditions of a remote device and operating conditions of the local device, wherein the local device and the remote device are located within a predetermined proximity of a wireless network;
transmitting an advertisement request from the local device to the remote device based at least in part on the comparison of the operating conditions of the local device and the remote device, the advertisement request identifying the one or more services of the local device and requesting the remote device to:
advertise the one or more services of the local device on behalf of the local device in the wireless network; and

determining that the advertising request was accepted and then terminating the local device's advertising of the one or more services of the local device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein advertising on behalf of the local device comprises broadcasting, at the remote device, a service advertisement having the one or more services of the local device on behalf of the local device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the service advertisement is a compound service advertisement having a first advertisement segment having one or more services of the remote device and a second advertisement segment having the one or more services of the local device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first advertisement segment comprises:
one or more service identifiers (IDs) identifying the one or more services of the remote device; and
a first availability schedule of the remote device during which the remote device is configured to listen to any service requests from another device concerning the one or more services identified by the one or more service IDs.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the second advertisement segment comprises:
one or more service identifiers (IDs) identifying the one or more services of the local device;
a second availability schedule of the local device during which the local device is configured to listen to any service requests from another device concerning the one or more services identified by the one or more service IDs; and
an address of the local device such that another device can directly contact the local device for inquiring the one or more services of the local device without having to contact the remote device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the remote device is configured to broadcast a service advertisement in the wireless network for advertising the one or more services of the local device on behalf of the local device, without requiring the local device to advertise the one or more services of the local device.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, listening in the wireless network, at the local device, to determine one or more remote devices that are capable of advertising the one or more services of the local device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the advertising request was accepted comprises one of:
receiving an advertisement response from the remote device, the advertisement response indicating that the remote device will honor the advertisement request and act as a group advertiser; and
receiving a next service advertisement from the remote device and determining that the next service advertisement has the one or more services of the local device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operating conditions of the local device comprise at least one of:
a battery status of the local device; and
network congestion experienced by the local device.

10. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method for advertising a service in a peer-to-peer networking environment, the method comprising:
while advertising, by a local device, one or more services of the local device, comparing operating conditions of a remote device and operating conditions of the local device, wherein the local device and the remote device are located within a predetermined proximity of a wireless network;
transmitting an advertisement request from the local device to the remote device based on the comparison of the operating conditions of the local device and the remote device, the advertisement request identifying the one or more services of the local device and requesting the remote device to:
advertise the one or more services of the local device on behalf of the local device in the wireless network; and

determining that the advertising request was accepted and then terminating the local device's advertising of the one or more services of the local device.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein advertising on behalf of the local device comprises broadcasting, at the remote device, a service advertisement having the one or more services of the local device on behalf of the local device.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the service advertisement is a compound service advertisement having a first advertisement segment having one or more services of the remote device and a second advertisement segment having the one or more services of the local device.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the first advertisement segment includes:
one or more service identifiers (IDs) identifying the one or more services of the remote device; and
a first availability schedule of the remote device during which the remote device is configured to listen to any service requests from another device concerning the one or more services identified by the one or more service IDs.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the second advertisement segment includes:
one or more service identifiers (IDs) identifying the one or more services of the local device;
a second availability schedule of the local device during which the local device is configured to listen to any service requests from another device concerning the one or more services identified by the one or more service IDs; and
an address of the local device such that another device can directly contact the local device for inquiring the one or more services of the local device without having to contacting the remote device.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the remote device is configured to broadcast a service advertisement in the wireless network for advertising the one or more services of the local device on behalf of the local device, without requiring the local device to advertise the one or more services of the local device.

16. A portable device, comprising:
a processor;
a memory;
a service advertiser selection unit, which is stored in the memory and executed by the processor, to, while advertising, by the portable device, one or more services of the portable device, compare operating conditions of a remote device and operating conditions of the portable device, wherein the portable device and the remote device are located within a predetermined proximity of a wireless network;
a service advertisement unit coupled to the service advertiser selection unit to transmit an advertisement request to the remote device based on the comparison of the operating conditions of the portable device and the remote device, the advertisement request identifying th

Assignees

• Vandwalle Pierre
• Thomas Tito
• Dominguez Charles Francis
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Vandwalle Pierre
• Thomas Tito
• Dominguez Charles Francis

Classifications

• H04W92/18

  between terminal devices · CPC title

• H04W52/02

  Power saving arrangements · CPC title

• H04W8/005

  Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals · CPC title

• H04W84/18

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title

• H04L43/04 Primary

  Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation · CPC title