Distributed Hash Set Table for NAT Service Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
In distributed architectures, registering services for clients to query from any network node is challenging, and communication between nodes is restricted by Network Address Translation (NAT)/firewalls or other network configurations.
Innovation Solution
A method for storing and retrieving datasets in a distributed data processing network using a Distributed Hash Set Table (DHST), where each node maintains lists of close nodes based on a distance metric, allowing for efficient service discovery and message relay across the network, even behind NATs or firewalls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If services are registered in a distributed infrastructure, then service availability and accessibility from any node is improved, but the complexity of service registration and discovery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a distributed hash table (DHT) as an intermediary structure that mediates between service providers and service consumers. Services are registered by storing their endpoint information in the DHT with a unique key, and clients discover services by querying the DHT. This intermediary DHT structure simplifies the registration and discovery process compared to direct peer-to-peer service registration, resolving the contradiction between service accessibility and registration complexity.
2Speed
If nodes communicate directly in a distributed network, then communication efficiency is improved, but communication is blocked by NAT/firewalls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the DHT structure as a mediator for node communication. Instead of direct peer-to-peer communication that is blocked by NAT/firewalls, nodes communicate through the DHT which stores and forwards endpoint information. The DHT acts as a relay that enables communication between nodes behind NAT/firewalls by storing public endpoint information that can be retrieved by other nodes, thus maintaining both communication efficiency and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an additional communication dimension by using the DHT as an intermediary layer. Rather than direct node-to-node communication (one dimension), the system adds a second dimension through the DHT that stores and manages endpoint information. This dimensional change allows nodes to communicate indirectly through the DHT, bypassing NAT/firewall restrictions while maintaining communication efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If a centralized server stores data, then data access is simplified, but the risk of data loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized data storage into a distributed hash table structure spread across multiple nodes in the network. Each node maintains a portion of the DHT, and data (service endpoint information) is stored in a segmented manner across the distributed network. This segmentation eliminates the single point of failure in centralized storage while maintaining simplified data access through the DHT query mechanism, thus resolving the contradiction between data access simplicity and data loss risk.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for storing of at least one dataset in a distributed data processing network includes: sending, from a specific network node to all close network nodes, an ADD message for adding a value to a dataset, wherein the ADD message comprises the key of the dataset and the value to be added; based on a close network node receiving the ADD message and the key not being known to the close network node, creating a new dataset in an internal table of the close network node comprising the key and the value; and based on the close network node receiving the ADD message and the key being known to the close network node, adding the value to the one or more values in the dataset of the key in the internal table of the close network.