Connection Servers Inject Routing State Into Stateless Messages

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Solution Overview

Problem

In distributed computing environments, especially in IoT settings, the use of stateless intermediate servers for persistent connectivity leads to the loss of routing state information, causing challenges in managing session state and reducing storage and processing burdens effectively as the number of interconnected devices grows rapidly.

Innovation Solution

A method and system where intermediate servers maintain and inject routing state information into messages, allowing them to be transmitted across stateless connections, and manage authentication sessions, thereby offloading these tasks from platform servers and enabling efficient communication with a large number of devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If stateless intermediate servers are used for persistent connectivity, then processing and storage burdens on platform servers are reduced, but routing state information is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing capacityVSAvoidrouting state information
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces connection servers as intermediary components between edge servers and platform servers. These connection servers maintain persistent connections and inject routing state information into messages, allowing the system to benefit from persistent connectivity while preserving necessary routing information through the stateless intermediate servers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The connection servers perform preliminary action by injecting routing state information into messages before they reach the platform server. This ensures that routing state information is preserved and available to the platform server even though the intermediate servers are stateless, resolving the contradiction between reduced processing burden and information loss.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If intermediate servers maintain routing state information, then routing accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverouting accuracyVSAvoidserver complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the server architecture into distinct functional components: edge servers for device communication, connection servers for connection management and state injection, and platform servers for business logic. This segmentation allows each component to have specific responsibilities, maintaining routing accuracy while managing overall system complexity through modular design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Connection servers act as intermediaries that handle the complexity of maintaining routing state information and injecting it into messages. This isolates the complexity from platform servers, allowing them to focus on business logic while connection servers manage the routing state, thus improving routing accuracy without proportionally increasing platform server complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If persistent connections are used, then connectivity efficiency is improved, but loss of routing state information occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconnectivity efficiencyVSAvoidrouting state information
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

Connection servers perform preliminary action by injecting routing state information into messages at the time of message transmission. This ensures that routing state information is preserved and available to platform servers even when using persistent connections through stateless intermediate servers, thus maintaining connectivity efficiency without information loss.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The connection servers serve as intermediaries that bridge the gap between persistent connectivity requirements and stateless intermediate server architecture. They maintain the necessary routing state information and inject it into messages, allowing efficient persistent connections while preventing routing state information loss.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP3120497B1Systems and methods for routing messages in distributed computing environments
Publication Date: 2019.12.11 PTC INC
  • EP3120497B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3120497B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3120497B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Methods and systems herein enables communication between connected devices and a federation of servers in a distributed computing system. The federation of servers allows a given connected device to freely move within the system such that the connected device does not need any knowledge of its own location or any routing details about nodes within the federation. The edge and intermediate servers employ a non-network addressable identifier associated with the device to establish a binding path from the platform server to the device. In another aspect, the intermediate servers operate as stateless servers and do not maintain or track the states of communication that relay therethrough. Rather, the intermediate servers inject the state information to each inbound message and employ routing rules in directing the injected information back to its source.