Proxy Service for Cross-Subnet Wireless Device Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless device protocols, such as iOS AirPrint, are limited to interacting with printers on the same subnet, restricting interaction with other devices and requiring specific protocol support, which is not feasible in larger network infrastructures.
Innovation Solution
A proxy software service that determines I/O devices across subnets using alternative protocols like SNMP, provides a network interface for iOS Universal IPP requests, translates IPP streams, and manages status and command messages to enable interaction with legacy devices without modification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a broadcast request protocol is used for device discovery, then devices can be found on the local subnet, but the protocol cannot pass across routers to different subnets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary component that receives broadcast requests from wireless devices, translates them into appropriate protocols for different subnets, and coordinates device discovery across multiple network segments. This mediator enables cross-subnet device finding while maintaining the simplicity of broadcast-based discovery on the local subnet.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a universal printing protocol is implemented, then interoperability between different devices is improved, but existing printers must be modified to support the new protocol
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as a protocol translation intermediary, receiving universal printing protocol requests from wireless devices and translating them into the specific protocols required by existing printers. This allows legacy printers to work with modern universal protocols without any modification to the printers themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of modifying printers to support new universal protocols, the invention inverts the approach by modifying the server to translate universal protocols into printer-specific protocols. This reverses the direction of adaptation, making the server rather than the printer the component that changes.
3Productivity
If wireless and wired networks are separated into different subnets for security and bandwidth reasons, then network performance is improved, but interaction between devices on different subnets is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The server serves as a mediator that enables device interaction across subnet boundaries by receiving requests from wireless devices on one subnet, translating and routing them to devices on other subnets, and returning responses. This maintains the security and performance benefits of subnet separation while enabling necessary device communication.
4Adaptability or versatility
If protocol translation is implemented to enable interaction with legacy devices, then device compatibility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server is designed as a universal platform that can translate between multiple different protocols simultaneously, serving as a multi-functional bridge between various device types. This consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate translation components into a single versatile system.
Data Source
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AI summary
A proxy software service determines all I/O devices, such as printers, independent of subnet location, on a network by alternative means; provides a network interface on a wireless subnet that can receive and respond to requests; responds to such requests for each I/O device so identified so that the I/O device is available to the wireless device user for device selection; transfers and translates, if necessary, the IPP stream received from the wireless device to the network address of the I/O device so that the I/O device simulates a compliant I/O device; and transfers and translates, if necessary, all necessary status and command messages from the present protocol to the protocol supported by a legacy I/O device. The proxy software service provides network interfaces that exist both on the wireless subnet, as well as the wired subnet on which the I/O devices are connected.