Distributed Push Notifications for Subnet Device Groups
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing push notification frameworks in enterprise environments face resource bottlenecks as the number of managed devices increases, due to repeated polling or maintaining persistent connections, which leads to high computing and networking loads on servers.
Innovation Solution
A distributed notifications framework is introduced, where one client device on a subnet is designated as a master device to communicate with peer devices, allowing them to suppress polling the server and maintain connections only with the master, thereby reducing the load on the server by distributing the computing and network resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If repeated polling or persistent connections are used for push notifications, then notification delivery is achieved, but server computing and networking resources increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the client devices into groups based on their subnet identifiers. Each group is assigned a group identifier, and devices within the same group share a single persistent connection to the server. This segmentation reduces the total number of connections from the server, as multiple devices are served through a single connection rather than each device maintaining its own connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a notification service as an intermediary layer between the server and client devices. The notification service receives notifications from the server, retrieves them from the devices' subnets using the group identifier, and distributes them to the appropriate devices. This intermediary approach allows the server to communicate with fewer entities while still reaching all devices efficiently.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of managed devices increases, then enterprise resource access capability improves, but server resource bottlenecks worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments devices into subnet-based groups, allowing the system to scale to large numbers of devices without proportionally increasing server connection overhead. Each group shares a single connection, so even as device enrollment capability expands, the server maintains a manageable number of active connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of organization by grouping devices according to their subnet identifiers rather than managing them individually. This dimensional shift from device-level to network-level grouping allows the system to handle increased device populations efficiently, as connections are managed at the network segment level rather than at the individual device level.
3Reliability
If individual device connections are maintained for push notifications, then notification accuracy is ensured, but network load on server increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual device connections into a single group-level connection for each subnet. The notification service maintains one persistent connection per subnet rather than one connection per device, thereby reducing the total quantity of network connections while still ensuring accurate notification delivery to all devices in the group through the group identifier mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A distributed notification system is described herein. A distributed notification grouping can be created in which a master device is appointed for a subnet. The master device can poll a server periodically on behalf of peer or slave devices so that the peer or slave devices do not poll the server unless they are appointed as the master or are retrieving notification data from the server.