US 6,463,078 B1Granted

Method for switching protocols transparently in multi-user applications

AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation

InventorsG. Eric Engstrom, Craig G. Eisler

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An application programming interface implements a method for transparently switching from one communication protocol to another and for restoring the state of a previous connection. The application programming interface executes on a local, client computer, as well as remote computers. It includes functions that multi-user application programs can call to communicate in a device independent manner with other applications executing on remote computers. To support communication on a variety of different computer communication protocols, the application programming interface accesses programs called service providers that implement the communication protocols and support the message passing model of the interface. The application programming interface can transparently switch the protocol on a remote computer by sending a system message to a compatible version of the interface on the remote computer that includes an identifier of the service provider for the new protocol. In response to the message, the application programming interface loads the new service provider and takes steps to set-up a new connection. The application programming interface can also restore the state of previous connection on a remote computer by sending a system message. In response to this message, the application programming interface on the remote computer retrieves the previous connection state from an MRU stack and loads the service provider for the previous connection.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A method for switching communication protocols between a client computer and remote computers, the method comprising:

establishing a first connection with a first remote computer according to a first communication protocol;
in a first process executing on the client computer, receiving a connectivity address from the first remote computer via the first connection, wherein the connectivity address provides address information to establish a second connection with a second remote computer;
and
using the connectivity address to establish the second connection with the second remote computer automatically and without prompting a user for the address information, where the second connection employs a second communication protocol and the second communication protocol is different than the first communication protocol;
wherein the first process comprises a first application programming interface program executing on the client computer, and wherein the first application programming interface program establishes the second connection by terminating a first service provider program that implements the first communication protocol and launching a second service provider program that implements the second communication protocol;
wherein the first application programming interface program is responsive to application programs executing on the client computer to receive device independent function calls to send and receive messages to the remote computers, where the device independent function calls are independent of the device and communication protocols used to send the messages;
and
wherein the first application programming interface program establishes the second connection in response to a first message sent by a second application programming interface program executing on the first remote computer, wherein the first message includes the connectivity address, and wherein the connectivity address includes a service provider identifier of the second service provider program and a telephone number or network address.

5 more elements

In a first server computer system, a programming interface layer between a server application program and a communication protocol program for a communication connection that follows a communication protocol, wherein the communication protocol is a set of hardware and software standards regulating transfer of data, the proramming interface layer for remotely causing a client computer system to switch communication connections of the client computer system, the programming interface layer comprising:

a restore connection function for responding to a call from a first server application program of the first server computer system by creating a message, wherein the message relates to restoration of a prior communication connection of the client computer system, the prior communication connection for prior communication between a client application program of the client computer system and a second server application program of a second server computer system;
and
code for sending the message to the client computer system over a current communication connection between the client computer system and the first server computer system, the current communication connection following a first communication protocol, wherein the message indicates to the client computer system to restore the prior communication connection based upon prior communication connection information stored by the client computer system, the prior communication connection information supplying the client computer system with information to restore the prior communication connection automatically, the prior communication connection to follow a second communication protocol that is different than the first communication protocol.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/128,676Filed 22 Jul 1998
Granted: 8 Oct 2002
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H04L 67/12
Protocols: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in…
H04L 61/00
Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
A63F 2300/407
Characterised by details of platform network: data transfer via internet
A63F 2300/534
Details of basic data processing: for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction