Bidirectional Communication Clusters Using Intermediary Gateways
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Solution Overview
Problem
The scalability and resource consumption of bidirectional communications between client devices and server devices become unsustainable as the number of client and server devices increases, due to the large number of direct connections required, which can lead to resource exhaustion and impaired system performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that establishes bidirectional connections between client devices and server devices using a mesh network architecture, where each client device connects to one server device directly and uses virtual connections through other server devices as intermediaries, reducing the total number of direct connections and enabling efficient message forwarding based on header contents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct connections are established between all client devices and all server devices, then communication reliability is improved, but resource consumption and system complexity increase unsustainably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces gateway devices as intermediaries between client devices and server devices. Instead of establishing direct connections between all clients and all servers, clients connect to gateways which then connect to servers. This mediator architecture reduces the total number of connections required while maintaining communication reliability through the gateway routing mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the network into distinct components: client devices, gateway devices, and server devices. This segmentation divides the monolithic connection architecture into modular segments, where each gateway manages a subset of client-server connections. The segmentation reduces overall system complexity by localizing connection management within each gateway.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of client and server devices increases, then system capacity and service coverage are improved, but resource exhaustion occurs due to the large number of direct connections required
Solution Approach 1:
Gateway devices serve as intermediaries that enable the system to scale by pooling connections. Instead of each client requiring direct connections to every server, clients connect to gateways which then route to servers. This reduces resource consumption by eliminating redundant direct connections while maintaining the ability to add clients and servers as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Gateway devices perform multiple functions: they act as connection endpoints for clients, routing intermediaries for server communications, and connection managers for multiple clients simultaneously. This multi-functionality allows a single gateway to serve many clients and route to many servers, improving system scalability without proportionally increasing resource consumption.
3Adaptability or versatility
If bidirectional connections are established between all devices, then communication flexibility is improved, but the number of connections required becomes unsustainable
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway acts as an intermediary that enables bidirectional communication flexibility without requiring direct bidirectional connections between all clients and servers. The gateway receives communications from clients and forwards them to appropriate servers, and vice versa, maintaining communication flexibility while reducing the total connection count through the routing mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for providing bidirectional communications between client devices and server devices are described herein. Server devices in a cluster may bidirectionally communicate with client devices in a resource site via direct connections or virtual connections. One or more server devices may act as intermediate server devices for communications via virtual connections, and may distinguish different types of messages based on header contents of the messages.