WO2015077969A1

WO2015077969A1 - Method and apparatus for managing software program on a device in a network

Info

Publication number: WO2015077969A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/088088
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yonggang Wang
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing
Priority date: 2013-11-28
Filing date: 2013-11-28
Publication date: 2015-06-04

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for managing a software program on a device in a network is provided. The method comprises: upon receipt of a message on the management operation to a software program on another device in the network, carrying out the same management operation to the software program on the device.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING SOFTWARE PROGRAM ON A

DEVICE IN A NETWORK

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to computer network. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing software program on a device in a network.

BACKGROUND

A netwok device may need various software programs to perform one or more specific operations. In such a case, some management operations are needed for the software program on the network device. For example, it is necessary to install a software program onto one or more network devices, as well as to delete the software program from network devices. In addition, the installed software program may need to be updated periodically or as required to fix problems and bugs and/or to improve the performance of the software program.

For a group of network devices which cooperate together to perform the same or similar application, it might be required to install/delete the same software program onto/from all network devices in the group and update the software program accordingly. For example, in a home network where a plurality of devices such as TV, personal computer (PC), laptop, multimedia tablet and mobile phone will support a video chat, the software program for the video chat application needs to be installed and updated corrspondingly on all of the above-mentioned devices.

However, the above requirement may cause several problems. For example, it is possible that a user may forget to install the software program of a specific application on some devices, in which case the device will not be able to implement the application. In addition, if a new device joins the home network, the user must reinstall the software program for all applications to the new device. It can be appreciated that the operation for updating and removing a software program, when needed, will also be carried out for all devices. SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the invention, a method for managing a software program on a device in a network is provided. The method comprises: upon a management operation being carried out to the software program on the device, transmitting a message about the software program to all other devices in the network.

According to one aspect of the invention, a method for managing a software program on a device in a network is provided. The method comprises: upon receipt of a message on the management operation to a software program on another device in the network, carrying out the same management operation to the software program on the device.

According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus for managing a software program on a device in a network is provided. The apparatus comprises: means for recording the information of a software program upon a management operation being carried out to the software program on the device; and means for transmitting a message on software program to all other devices in the network.

According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus for managing a software program on a device in a network is provided. The apparatus comprises: means for receiving a message on the management operation to a software program on another device in the network; and means for carrying out the same management operation to the software program on the device.

It is to be understood that more aspects and advantages of the invention will be found in the following detailed description of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide further understanding of the embodiments of the invention together with the description which serves to explain the principle of the embodiments. The invention is not limited to the embodiments.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an exemplary block disgram showing the architecture of a home network wherein the method for managing software program on a network device according to an embodiment of the invention is applied;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for managing software program on a network device according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is exemplary diagram showing a message exchange among different network devices;

Figure 4 is an exemplary diagram showing a format of PAT update message;

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the process of installing a software program on a network device in the home network according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the process of a network device responding to a received PAT update message according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 is a flow chart showing the process of carrying out management operations to a software program on a network device according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 8 is a message chart showing a new device register to network according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings. In the following description, some detailed descriptions of known functions and configurations may be omitted for conciseness.

Figure 1 is an exemplary block disgram showing the architecture of a home network wherein the method for managing a software program on a network device according to an embodiment of the invention is applied.

As shown in Figure 1 , the home network provides IP connection for local network devices, such as Set-Top-Box (STB), mobile device, multimedia tablet, and personal computer (PC), etc. A gateway is shown to connect the home network and the internet, throught which the local network devices can access the Internet. Some or all of the local network devices can cooperate together to perform a same or similar application, for example, a video chat application described above. Figure 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a software program on network devices according to an embodiment of the invention.

The apparatus for managing a software program on network devices according to an embodiment of the invention can be deployed on some or all of the network devices in the home network to implement the mechanism described by the embodiment of the inventiobn in home network. In Figure 2, only two network devices T and R are shown, which are provided respectively with the apparatus 200 and 200' for managing software program. The apparatus 200 and 200' are shown to illustrate the operation of the different network devices applying the embodiment of the invention. It can be appreciated that the apparatus 200 and 200' comprises the same components with the same functions.

The apparatus 200 comprises a recording unit 201 for recording the information of a software program when a management operation is carried out to the software program on the network device T. As described above, the management operation to the software program on a network device may comprise but is not limited to the operation of installation, update and deletion of the software program.

In one example, the information of the software program can be recorded in a local Public Application Table (PAT). When a software program is, for example, installed or updated on the network device T shown in Figure 2, the recording unit 201 of the network device T will record the information of the software program in the PAT. It should be noted that the term "public application" here refers to a software program that can be installed onto more than one network devices in the home network. If an application can only be installed on one network device, it is not called a public application.

An exemplary structure of a PAT is shown in the table below.

AppName TimeStamp URL Status

TCH.VideoChat 0x52580000 http://... Installed

TCH. DoorControl 0x52583002 http://... Deleting

TCH.LightControl 0x52588000 http://... Failed

TCH.WiFi Doctor 0x52598000 http://... Installing

MS.Displayer 0x5258a000 http://... Deleted The exemplary PAT contains four fields for recording the information of the software program.

"AppName" indicates the name of a software program which is installed or updated on the network device. "AppName" should be a unique ID for the software program. To avoid the same application name being used by different vendors, a "vendor name.application name" format can be used. For example the video chat provided by a company TCH is named to "TCH.VideoChat".

"TimeStamp" indicates the time when the application is updated last time on a device in home network. In this example, the time is indicated by the seconds since 1970-01 -01 00:00:00 UTC.

"URL (Universal Resource Locator)" points to the location of an application to be installed or updated. It could be the address in Internet or address in the home network.

"Status" indicates the status of the public application, which may comprise the below values.

• Installed - the software program has been installed succefully.

• Failed - the software program cannot be support by this device or it fails to install.

• Deleted - the software program has been removed.

· Installing - the software program is in the process of installing, which means that the notification of installation was received but not finished yet.

• Deleting - the software program is in the process of removing, which means that the notification of removal was received but not finished yet. The above values of the "Status" field are only for illustrative purpose. Other values can be introduced according to the actions taken to the software program.

It can be appreciated that each network device in the home network can maintain and update its individual PAT. For example, the apparatus 200' of the network device R also comprises a recording unit 201 ' for recording the information of a software program when the software program is installed or updated on the network device R.

The apparatus 200 further comprises a communicating unit 202 for transmitting the information of the installed and/or updated software program of the network device to all other network devices in the home network or receiving the information of the installed and/or updated software programs on any other network devices in the home network.

In one example, upon a management operation to a software program on the network device T, the recording unit 201 of the apparatus 200 will record the information of the software program by updating the PAT accordingly. Then the communicating unit 202 transmits a message to all other network devices in the home network and publishes the PAT to the home network. The term "publish" here means the PAT can be accessed by another network device in the home network through API. Several technologies can be used to support publish, such as XML, socket, QEO bus etc. In the embodiment, the massage can be named PAT update message. Figure 3 is exemplary diagram showing a message exchange among different network devices. As shown in Figure 3, a network device A can transmit a PAT update message to all other network devices B, C and D in the home network to publish the PAT to the home network.

It can be appreciated that an option can be provided to the user of the network device T for selecting whether to inform all other devices in home network of the management operations to the software program. If the user selects "No", then the communicating unit 202 will not transmit the message to other network devices in the home network.

Figure 4 is an exemplary diagram showing a format of PAT update message. As shown in Figure 4, The PAT update message comprises the fields for PAT update and source Device ID. The first field, "pat_update", is used to distinguish PAT update message from other system messages. The second field notifies a receiver which announces the update message. The receiver will use source Device I D to get the latest PAT.

In the following description, a network device which transmits a PAT update message to all other devices in the network will be referred to as a source device. In this example, the network device T is a source device.

A network device in the home network which receives PAT update message can decide whether to perform the same management operations to the software program accordingly. If the decision is yes, the network device can synchronize its local PAT to the published one.

The apparatus 200 comprises a synchronizing unit 203 for synchronizing a local PAT of a network device to the published PAT. In this example showin in Figure 2, the network device T is the one that publishes it updated PAT and the network device R will synchronize its local PAT to the published PAT.

When the communicating unit 202 of the apparatus 200 transmits PAT update message and the published PAT from a source device (the network device T in this case), the synchronizing unit 203' of the apparatus 200' can synchronize the local PAT of the network device R to the published PAT.

Below is the process to synchronize local PAT: {

Get_network_PAT(src_Device_id) ; // get PAT from source device

Get_local_PAT(); // get local PAT

Compare_PAT(loc_PAT, src_PAT); // compare local PAT and network PAT }

Compare_PAT(loc_PAT, src_PAT)

{

Update_notify=false

For each item in src_PAT

{

lf(item doesn't exist in loc_PAT)

Add AppName, TimeStamp and URL to loc_PAT

Set status= Installing

Else for the same AppName in src_PAT and loc_PAT

if(src_TS>loc_TS)

Update TimeStamp and URL to loc_PAT

lf(src_Status=Deleted)

Loc_Status=Deleting

Else

Loc_status= Installing

lf(src_TS<loc_TS)

Update_notify=true

}

If new items exist in loc_PAT or Update_notify=true

Send PAT_update_message to network

} It should be noted that during the synchronization process, for a same software program, the device will select the latest item according time stamp. For each item in PAT, if a new item is found, it will update the item in local public application table and set status for this item to "Installing" or "deleting".

The apparatus 200' further comprise a managing unit 204' for carrying out a management operation to a software program on the network device R according to the synchronized PAT and also update the PAT according to the carried out management operation.

For example, the managing unit 204' can scans the local PAT periodically. If an

"Installing" status is found in the local PAT, it can install or update the software program according to the corresponding URL. It can be appreciated that the managing unit 204' can firstly check whether the network device R has capability to run this application. If yes, the software program is installed according to the corresponding URL and the status field of this item in the PAT is updated to "installed". If no, the status field of this item is updated to "Failed" and the software program will not be installed.

If a "deleting" status is found, the managing unit 204' will remove the software program from the network device R and update the status of this item in PAT to "deleted". If a "deleted" status is found, the managing unit 204' will check the timestamp. If the timestamp is older than an aging value, this item will be removed from the PAT. The aging value is a parameter set by network administrator, which is the same for all network devices in the home network. The aging value refers to how long "deleted" record should be kept in the PAT. For example, the aging value can be set to 60 days, in which case a "deleted" record will be kept in PAT for 60 days and then removed from the PAT. The setting of the aging value can avoid rubbish data in the PAT.

The managing unit 204 of each network device in the home network can run asynchronously, which can prevent all devices from updating the same application at the same time. Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the process of installing a software program on a network device in a home network according to an embodiment of the invention.

The process starts at step S500.

At step S501 , it installs a software program onto a network device in the home network.

At step S502, it asks the user whether to install the software program to all the other network devices in the home network.

If the result of step S502 is "No", the process stops at step S505.

If the result of step S502 is "Yes", at the next step S503, it updates the PAT of the network device to record the information of a software program.

At step S504, it transmits a message to all other network devices in the home network and publishes the PAT to the home network. The transmitted message can be the PAT update message described above.

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the process of a network device responding to a received PAT update message according to an embodiment of the invention.

The process starts at step S600.

At step S601 , it receives a PAT update message from another network device.

At step S602, it obtains the published PAT in the home network.

At step S603, it synchronizes the local PAT to the published PAT.

At step S604, it determines whether there is update in the local PAT.

If the result of step S604 is "No", the process stops at step S606.

If the result of step S604 is "Yes", at the next step S605, it carries out management operation to the software program according to the synchronized PAT.

The process starts at step S606.

Figure 7 is a flow chart showing the process of carrying out management operations to software program on a network device according to an embodiment of the invention.

The process starts at step S700.

At step S701 , it scans a local PAT of the network device.

At step S702, it determines whether it is the end of the local PAT.

If the result of step S702 is "Yes", the process stops at step S712. If the result of step S702 is "No", at the next step S703, it determines whether an "Installing" status is found in the local PAT. If the result of step S702 is "Yes", at the next step S704, it installs the software program on the network device according to the information provided in the local PAT. Then at the next step S705, it updates the status field of this item in the local PAT into "installed". Then the process will go to step S702 for determining whether it is the end of the local PAT.

If the result of step S703 is "No", at the next step S706, it determines whether a "Deleting" status is found in the local PAT. If the result of step S706 is "Yes", at the next step S707, it removes the software program from the network device. Then at the next step S708, it updates the status field of this item in the local PAT into "Deleted". Then the process will go to step S702 for determining whether it is the end of the local PAT.

If the result of step S706 is "No", at the next step S709, it determines whether a "Deleted" status is found in the local PAT. If the result of step S709 is "Yes", at the next step S710, determines whether the timestamp is older than an aging value. If the result of step S710 is "Yes", at the next step S71 1 , it removes the corresponding record from the local PAT. Then the process will go to step S702 for determining whether it is the end of the local PAT. If the result of step S710 is "No", then the process will go to step S702 for determining whether it is the end of the local PAT.

If the result of step S709 is "No", the process will go to step S702 for determining whether it is the end of the local PAT.

Figure 8 is a message chart showing a new device register to a home network according to an embodiment of the invention.

When a network device, for example the network device T described above, joins the home network for the first time, the communicating unit 202 of the apparatus 200 can receive PAT update message and published PAT from a master device in the home network and the synchronizing unit 203 will synchronize the local PAT of the device to the published PAT. Normally a gateway device of the home network can be set as the master device. In other cases, the synchronizing unit 203 can also carry out the synchronization process when needed under the control of the master device. In one example, the synchronizing unit 203 can carry out the synchronization process periodically in order to avoid message lost.

It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures are preferably implemented in software program, the actual connections between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention.

Claims

1 . A method for managing a software program on a device in a network, comprising

upon a management operation being carried out to the software program on the device, transmitting a message about the software program to all other devices in the network.

2. Method according to claim 1 , further comprising

providing information for carrying out the management operation to the software program in the message.

3. Method according to claim 2, further comprising

transmitting the message in a form of a table for recording the information on the software program and for carrying out the management operation to the software program.

4. Method according to claim 1 , the management operation comprises installation, deletion and update of the software program.

5. A method for managing a software program on a device in a network, comprising

upon receipt of a message on the management operation to a software program on another device in the network, carrying out the same management operation to the software program on the device.

6. Method according to claim 5, further comprising

receiving the message in a form of a table for recording the information on the software program and for carrying out the management operation to the software program.

7. Method according to claim 6, further comprising

recording the information on said management operation to the software program in a table.

8. An apparatus for managing a software program on a device in a network, comprising

means (201 ) for recording the information of a software program upon a management operation being carried out to the software program on the device; and means (202) for transmitting a message on software program to all other devices in the network.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the message comprises information for carrying out the management operation to the software program.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the message is in a form of a table for recording the information on the software program and for carrying out the management operation to the software program.

1 1 . An apparatus for managing a software program on a device in a network, comprising

means (202) for receiving a message on the management operation to a software program on another device in the network; and

means (203, 204) for carrying out the same management operation to the software program on the device.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1 1 , further comprising

means (201 ) for recording the information on said management operation to the software program.