RU2451992C2 - Universal multifunctional communication system using information objects and maintenance departments - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technology.

SUBSTANCE: system of hardware and software tools of different types of online communication, hierarchically made with a three-level architecture, on the top level of which there is a communicator server which coordinates operation of a peer-to-peer distributed network, the middle level is an adjustable conveying system for transmitting information, and the bottom level is a client/server application. The middle level has at least two territorially distributed user servers for storing information objects, which form a single information environment which realises cross-platform transit of information objects with formation of closed and/or public information transmission based on a multifunctional user interface, with options for structuring communication types, remote access to distributed databases, connection to external systems and/or third-party systems/partners. The communicator server facilitates authorisation of client servers, selection of functional departments and services but does not participate in the transit of data traffic through the client servers.

EFFECT: faster operation when searching for information objects.

5 cl, 9 dwg

Description

The invention relates to computer technology, in particular to a universal multimedia multifunctional communication system that provides real-time multiuser communication with personalization based on specialized web forms that are not dependent on browser type, which accelerate and facilitate access to information objects, search systems, services multimedia services, email and instant messaging services. The invention is a tool for a new organization of a unified search for objects and setting up a secure group information environment.

Currently, the so-called peer-to-peer, decentralized, or peer-to-peer (from the English peer-to-peer, P2P - point-to-point) networks are known and widely used - computer networks based on the equal rights of participants. There are no dedicated servers in such networks, and each node (peer) is both a client and a server. In contrast to the client-server architecture, such an organization allows maintaining the network operability for any number and any combination of available nodes (see, in particular, http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/P2P).

At the same time, the massive introduction of PC and Internet, broadband, and subscriber mobility have become the most visible phenomena in the development of telecommunications and have necessitated the creation of an economical and efficient solution that allows using Web resources to introduce the widest range of new services, including communication, at minimal cost. , entertainment, business applications, information exchange with any possible combinations of voice, text, video or graphics, which is an important and sought-after task. Moreover, in order to achieve high efficiency, communication should be interesting, visual and real-time, and the services should be convenient, friendly and provided taking into account the individual needs of subscribers. With the growth in the number of subscribers and services, the number of functions that have to be implemented increases accordingly. In addition, the integration of several services or the implementation of services in which various media environments are combined presents an undoubted difficulty.

Currently, there is a need to create such a solution that provides the universality and flexibility of the information environment being formed, the integration of modern technologies and services, their availability regardless of the location of the subscriber, stationary or mobile terminals and types of connections used, interface efficiency, as well as reduction in formation costs and maintenance of domain-specific databases.

Given the above circumstances, the objective of the claimed multifunctional communication system is to build a unified hardware and software platform that allows you to create a homogeneous environment for the convergence of multimedia services, harmoniously fill the space between traditional telecommunication and Internet technologies.

The technical result achieved during the creation of the claimed system is to increase the efficiency of communication, achieved as a result of increased performance when searching for information objects, setting up functional services and services, as well as covering the entire range of types of communication - from private correspondence to broadcast messages.

Achieving the indicated result by the proposed unified system of hardware and software for universal multifunctional communication, hierarchically executed with a three-tier architecture, on the upper level of which a communicator server is involved, coordinating the work of a peer-to-peer distributed network, the middle is a customizable transport system for transmitting information, and the bottom is a client-server application, provided that the middle level contains at least two geographically distributed client servers for storing information objects that form a single information environment that provides cross-platform transit of information objects with the formation of closed and / or public information transfer based on the multifunctional user interface with the possibility of structuring types of information interaction, remote access to distributed databases, connecting to external systems and / or to third-party partner systems, while the communicator server provides client authorization their servers, choice of functional services, and services, but he did not participate in the transit of data traffic that runs through client servers.

Preferred, but not mandatory options for implementing the claimed system provide for its implementation with the possibility of simultaneous access of more than two users to the same information object.

Any of the options for implementing the claimed system provides:

for organizing the effective operation of client-server applications in a peer-to-peer distributed network, the communicator server includes user authorization, situational control, universal graphic interface settings management, distributed data storage scaling management, data routing, meta-contact management, and as a custom information transfer system used the global transport system of the Internet;

expanding the distributed network architecture by other partner systems is carried out by means of their respective nodes playing a double role: from the expandable system, these nodes are peer-to-peer network elements that aggregate the control (signal) traffic of the partner system clients, and from the partner system clients as servers serving as a portal to an expandable system, and performing service functions for them;

to optimize communication traffic due to distributed data storage and organization of remote access to them, while ensuring simultaneous access of more than two users to the same information object;

execution using the tag mechanism for identifying replicas and structuring them into dialogs, combines various types of replicas (text, voice, video, their various combinations) and types of information transfer (closed and public, with a hierarchy of participants and without, with and without feedback), It also provides secure interaction both in the internal information environment and with traditional communication services (mail, instant messengers, forums, chats, blogs, Broadcasting, CMC, MMC, etc.), covering the entire spectrum of on-line communications from private per squeaks to broadcast messages;

a multifunctional graphical user interface provides convergence of services and universal communications management regardless of their type, communication channel used and in cases of interaction with traditional communication services, and also allows users to organize work on managing regulations and structuring different types of information interaction by status (mine, group or public), hierarchy (single-level or multi-level) and type (broadcast or interactive).

The claimed multifunctional communication system allows you to implement the following aspects of information interaction:

combining various types of on-line communications (text, voice, video, and their various combinations) into a single system that allows organizing closed and public transmission of information with and without a hierarchy of participants, with and without feedback;

organization of secure interaction both in the system’s internal information environment and with traditional communication services (such as mail, instant messengers, forums, chats, blogs, blogcasting, CMC, MMC, etc.);

structuring of various types of information interaction by status (mine, group or public), hierarchy (single-level or multi-level) and type (broadcast or interactive);

the use, among others, of a tagged mechanism for identifying dialogue replicas;

optimization of communication traffic due to distributed data storage and organization of remote access to it (instead of forwarding) using metadata, address space details, coordinate marking markers and instant message records;

creation of a peer-to-peer network of a distributed system having a server that performs authorization, maintains statistics, determines routing and performs other service functions, but does not participate in the transit of information traffic;

expanding the architecture of the distributed system by other systems by introducing special nodes that play a dual role: from the expandable system, these nodes are elements of a peer-to-peer network, and from the expanding network, they are servers that serve as gates to the expandable system;

the use of a single profile of a graphical interface when working with the shell of any browser that allows you to access the history of information interaction between users and display all messages in an abstracted form, independent of the data transmission channel and the conceptual construction of various communications.

In general, the possibility of achieving the set result and implementing the above aspects is ensured by the structural functions of the communication system of the following functions:

The communicator server provides: providing in real time a personalized access point to applications and data, subject to mandatory authorization conditions and strict access rights; a clear separation of role functions between nodes of partner communication systems; logical linking of related materials within a secure group information environment; the formation of links pointing to internal and external information objects; ease of connecting distributed resources of a single information environment; obtaining by users of additional opportunities for the selection and structuring of information that meets their interests; user collective work on documents and content filling;

multifunctional graphical user interface provides: visual description of information objects and multimedia resources; convenience of access to information objects of a large number of users in real time; unified localization of multimedia services, email, search engines and instant messaging configuration tools;

a secure group information environment serving user requests combines many geographically distributed information objects stored in the databases of the communicator server and servers of partner systems and provides: an increase in the volume of processed information by expanding the number and content of distributed databases of the peer-to-peer network; information identity in the subject search of information objects through metadata, address details and records of instant messages; organization of data in the form of scalable structural units (replica, dialog, list of dialogs); organization of user interaction both through a web browser and through a client application within a fixed or mobile platform; information conversion under an open cross-platform communication protocol; support for communication with all instant messaging services (ICQ, MSN, Google Talk, Jabber, Skype, Yahoo and other CMC); unified management of security and resource allocation.

In accordance with the foregoing, the communicator server coordinating the work of the entire system provides technological support for interaction throughout the entire communication life cycle and allows organizing the expansion of the range of users, regulation of service functions, increasing the range of information objects search and the number of types of communication from private correspondence to broadcast messages.

Its main components are:

- user authorization block, which provides verification of users' legitimacy, generation of registration data on their status, maintaining an error register and a list of black subscriber numbers of subscribers;

- a situational control unit, which provides summation of the duration of subscriber communication sessions, accounting for user profiles and obligations, tracking and recording in the log all events that occur during the communication cycle, etc .;

- a data routing unit that provides processing of requests and determines the routes for transmitting user messages, controlling the list and powers of external systems, as well as expanding the communication architecture through special nodes of other partner systems.

The efficiency of the transport system, which forms the average level of the architectural hierarchy, and the increase in speed when searching for information objects are achieved through additional use as part of the communicator server:

- a control unit for the settings of the multifunctional graphical interface, which provides: structuring of different types of information interaction by status (mine, group or public), hierarchy (single-level or multi-level) and type (broadcast or interactive); the use, along with others, of the tagged mechanism for identifying replicas and structuring them into dialogs; convergence of services and universal communications management, regardless of their type, used communication channel, as well as in cases of interaction with traditional communication services; organization of user work on joint regulation management;

- a control unit for scaling distributed data storage, which provides: optimization of communication traffic due to remote access to databases (instead of sending files) and transit of information objects through client servers; organization of communication processes taking into account metadata, address details and records of instant messages; combining data into a scalable structural unit (replica, dialog, list of dialogs); an increase in the volume of processed information as a result of a regulated expansion in the number and content of distributed peer-to-peer network databases; uniform functionality for mobile and wired networks;

- metacontact management unit, which provides: combining or disconnecting contacts of one or different protocols, creating a new metacontact, forming a sequence of user accounts in metacontact.

The previous summary of the invention, as well as key features of the communication architecture will become more clear when studying them with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to illustrate the invention, the drawings show possible specific embodiments of the invention, however, the invention is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus described below.

In connection with the drawings, it should be noted that:

figure 1 presents the General architecture of the claimed communication system;

figure 2 presents a block diagram of the architectural construction of the server of the communicator;

figure 3 presents an illustration of the organization of data storage in the claimed system;

figure 4 presents an illustration of the organization of interaction with external communication systems;

figure 5 presents an illustration of the organization of the authorization process metakontaktov user;

figure 6 presents an illustration of the organization of user dialogue in a communication service;

figure 7 presents an illustration of the organization of group interaction in a communication service;

on Fig presents an illustration of the organization of public interaction in a communication service;

figure 9 presents an illustration of a graphical interface that provides the organization of communication taking into account the structuring of information interaction by status (personal, group or public).

The following terms used hereinafter in the description mean:

API (Application Programming Interface) - a set of ready-made classes, functions, structures and constants provided by an application (library, service) for its use in external software products;

HTTP (Eng. HyperText Transfer Protocol - “Hypertext Transfer Protocol”) is a protocol for the application level of data transfer (initially - in the form of hypertext documents) using the “client-server” technology;

RTP (Eng. Real-Time Protocol - “real-time protocol”) - a protocol that works at the transport level and is used when transmitting real-time traffic;

SIP - (English Session Initiation Protocol - protocol for establishing a session) - a standard for the method of establishing and completing a user Internet session, including the exchange of multimedia content;

Accent is a keyword that conveys the essence of the conversation and is asked by the participants in the dialogue;

DB - database;

Dialog - a sequence of remarks created by a limited circle of persons within a certain topic;

Client - a browser on the user's computer (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari), an email client, a messenger, or a flash / java applet, with the help of which the work with the Portal is carried out.

Communicator - a communication service in accordance with the declared unified system of hardware and software for universal multifunctional communication;

Metacontact - a logical contact that combines both the contacts of one protocol and the contacts of different protocols (e-mail, icq, gtalk, etc.);

Replica - message;

Server - a set of portal computers;

A replica hash key is a bit string that represents the result of applying a cryptographic function (md5, shal, etc.) to the replica.

The architecture of the claimed multifunctional communication system is based on the following principles:

transparency, i.e. a clear separation of roles between several architectural levels of the communicator;

distribution, i.e. data storage on unconnected servers with the possibility of aggregation into a single structural unit (replica, dialog, list of dialogs);

scalability, i.e. lack of restrictions on increasing the network of communication service servers;

independence from the final “client”, ie providing a set of interfaces in accordance with the communicator server API, which allows you to interact with it both through a web browser and through a client application within a mobile or stationary platform.

Figure 1 shows the architecture of the claimed communication system, which is a three-level distributed system consisting of a top-level link - a communicator server, a middle level - user servers and lower - user users. The interaction of the communicator server and user servers is based on the SIP protocol. Text messaging is also done using SIP. Streaming data (audio, video) is transmitted using RTP. User clients connect to servers through the HTTP-native interface (REST or others) or through other interfaces.

Figure 2 presents a block diagram of the architectural construction of the communicator server, showing with what structural elements the work of the transport system is coordinated, and convergence of services and universal management of communications are also provided.

According to figure 3, data storage in accordance with the second principle embedded in the architecture of the claimed system, distribution is performed between the communicator server and the user servers, and the torrent technology is partially used. That is, for each dialogue that has its own list of replicas, a metadata file with the extension “.torrent” is created, which contains the addresses of clients connected to the communicator server and the hash sum of all replicas. Information about the general structure of dialogs (the order of replicas in a dialog, replica authors) is stored in the communicator database. Replica content is stored on the servers of replica authoring users. When a client requests a dialogue, the dialogue structure is requested from the communicator’s server, and the replicas are requested from the corresponding user servers that wrote them, and then they are combined into a single structural structure. At the same time, data on the rights of users and groups, their access to certain communication zones is also requested from the communicator server. In general, such a mechanism eliminates data duplication within the communication system.

To work with external communication systems (figure 4), additional robotic servers are used, which are ordinary users, added to the lists of interlocutors or friends. Their tasks include listening to external servers assigned to them (mail server, im-server), to which new messages arrive, and converting these messages into replicas and dialogs in accordance with the internal scenarios of the communicator. This approach allows you to scale the system in 2 directions:

when the load on a particular communication system (for example, a mail server) increases, the installation of additional robots is sufficient;

when connecting a new communication system, it is required to install only a new robot that will be able to work with it, without the need to modify any other parts of the communicator.

During the implementation of the process of authorization of metacontacts (Fig. 5), the user client (CP) sends a request to the communicator server (SC) to obtain the address of its user server (SP). In case of successful verification of the login and password, the SC sends the CP the address of the SP and the session key for working with it, while the joint key of the session is also transmitted. KP connects to the joint venture, passing it the session key received earlier for comparison. After that, the joint venture requests a list of metacontacts and their statuses from the UK and sends the received data to the joint venture. After receiving them, the KP displays an authorized list of metacontacts and statuses.

During the organization of the user dialogue in the communication service (Fig.6), the CP sends a request to the joint venture to obtain a list of dialogs. The joint venture requests this list from the UK (taking into account the installed filters and sorting), and after receiving it, transmits the CP for display on the screen. Then KP sends a request to the joint venture to receive a list of replicas, which is also sent to the UK. The IC checks the user's access rights to the requested replicas and, if available, transmits to the joint venture a list of dialogue replicas, hash keys to them, and a list of addresses of users to whom the replicas belong. The SP returns a list of replicas of the KP that sent the request. In the presence of the address of the author of the replica, the joint venture sends him a request indicating the identifier and the hash key for the replica, otherwise he additionally requests this address from the UK. In turn, the joint venture, to which the author of the replica belongs, checks the hash key and, if it matches, transfers the contents of the joint venture replica that initiated the request. This SP transfers the contents of the KP replica to display it.

When a new replica is published, the CP sends the joint venture its contents and addresses, as well as the identifier of the dialogue, if the replica is published in an existing dialogue, or information about a new dialogue, if the replica is published in it. The joint venture forwards this information to the IC, which checks the user’s rights to publish replicas in this dialog, as well as the dialogue on the fact of “openness” to new replicas. In the absence of rights or "closed" dialogue, the SC generates the corresponding error code. With a favorable test result, the SC checks the contents of the replica for attachments. In the case of creating a new dialogue, the SK enters the dialogue meta-information into the database server (DB). Then, the SC enters replica meta-information into the database server, including its hash key. The generated replica and dialog identifiers are returned as a response to the SP request. Having saved the contents of the replica, the joint venture sends it to the destination servers if it is published in the existing dialog, and also sends the code for the successful publication of the replica and the KP dialogue.

During the organization of group interaction in the communication service (Fig. 7), the CP sends a joint venture request to obtain a list of groups. The joint venture requests this list from the UK, and after receiving it transmits the CP for display on the screen. Then the CP sends a request to the joint venture to receive group data. The joint venture requests this data from the SC, and after receiving it transmits the CP for display on the screen. When the KP forms a request for changing the group data, the joint venture sends it and the changed data of the SC, which checks the user’s rights to change the composition of the group, and if there are any, makes the change and returns the successful operation code to the joint venture. In this case, the server sends an invitation message to the servers added to the user group. The joint venture sends the code for the operation of the CP, which displays the result of the operation.

During the organization of public interaction in the communication service (Fig. 8), the CP sends a joint venture request to receive a list of subsections of the “Public” section. The joint venture requests this list from the UK, and after receiving it, transmits the CP (together with a list of moderators for each of the subsections) for display on the screen. If the KP sends the joint venture the changed data of the subsection, it sends them to the SC, which checks the user’s rights to moderate the subsection, the new data of the subsection and either allows or rejects the changes. For servers added to the list of moderators, the IC sends an invitation message. After this, the SC transmits the operation code to the SP, and the latter sends it to the CP, which displays the result of the operation. When the KP sends the joint venture a request to “close” the subsection or public dialogue as a whole, it also forwards it to the SC, which checks the user's right to “close” and either carries out or rejects this operation. Then, the operation execution code is transferred to the joint venture, which sends it to the CP to display the corresponding results on the user's screen.

Figure 9 shows an example of the organization of a graphical interface, taking into account the structuring of information interaction by status. The screenshot shown shows that in group communication, the author’s replica serves as the starting point of a detailed dialogue for the selected thematic emphasis. Then, after a double indent, five replicas are already read by other recipients, as well as a substrate with information that reflects the total number of read but already invisible replicas — only 7 layers. The folder of the expanded dialogue with a different accent is opened either by clicking or pause after the cursor is in the field under the accent label. Closing an expanded dialogue is carried out either in a similar way, or as a result of opening another dialogue.

Claims (5)

1. A system of hardware and software for various types of online communication, hierarchically executed with a three-tier architecture, at the upper level of which a communicator server is used to coordinate the work of a peer-to-peer distributed network, the middle is a customizable transport system for transmitting information, and the bottom is a client-server application, characterized in that the middle level contains at least two geographically distributed user servers storing information objects that form a single information environment that provides cross-platform transit of information objects with the formation of closed and / or public information transfer based on the multifunctional user interface with the possibility of structuring the types of information interaction, remote access to distributed databases, connecting to external systems and / or external partner systems, while the communicator server provides authorization of client servers, selection of functional services and services, but does not participate in the transport itself Use the info graphic that runs through client servers. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that for organizing the effective operation of client-server applications in a peer-to-peer distributed network, the communicator server includes user authorization, situational control, universal graphical interface settings management, distributed data storage scaling management, data routing , metacontact management, while the global Internet transport system was used as a custom information transfer system. 3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the expansion of the distributed network architecture by other partner systems is carried out by means of their respective nodes playing a dual role: from the expandable system, these nodes are peer-to-peer network elements that aggregate the control (signal) traffic of system clients -partner, and on the part of clients of the partner system - servers that serve as a portal to an expandable system and perform service functions for them. 4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it serves to optimize the communication schedule due to the distributed data storage and organization of remote access to them, while ensuring simultaneous access of more than two users to the same information object. 5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made using a tag mechanism for identifying replicas and structuring them into dialogs, integrates various subject-oriented databases.

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