Patent ID: 7730220
Filing Date: 2010-06-01
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. At a computer system, a method for broadcasting a message within a sub-ring of nodes included in a federation infrastructure, the federation infrastructure represented by a linked list of nodes, the linked list of nodes partitioned into a hierarchical tree of rings including a root ring and a plurality of lower sub-ring levels of sub-rings, the root ring including all the nodes in the linked list of nodes, the plurality of lower sub-ring levels arranged relative to one another within the hierarchical tree in accordance with a plurality of different proximity criteria, each lower sub-ring level in the hierarchical tree of rings including a plurality of different sub-rings, each different sub-ring within each lower sub-ring level representing a corresponding different equivalence class of nodes respectively based on assigned values for the one or more of the plurality of different proximity criteria used to arrange the lower sub-ring level within the hierarchical tree, wherein nodes of the same equivalence class within the same lower sub-ring level have the same value for the one or more of the plurality of different proximity criteria used to arrange the lower sub-ring within the hierarchical tree, wherein nodes of different equivalence classes within the same lower sub-ring level have at least one different value for the one or more of the plurality of different proximity criteria used to arrange the lower sub-ring level within the hierarchical tree, the method comprising: an act of a node within hierarchical tree of rings accessing a message, the node having membership in a sub-ring, the sub-ring being one of a plurality of sub-rings at a lower sub-ring level arranged within the tree hierarchy based on the plurality of proximity criteria, membership in the sub-ring also indicative of membership in other sub-rings in each of one or more other sub-ring levels between the lower sub-ring level and the root ring, the sub-rings in each of the one or more other sub-ring levels indicative of a ring path forming a spine of sub-rings the node is a member of from the sub-ring to the root ring based on values for one or more of the plurality of proximity criteria, the message for delivery to a range of nodes within a specified sub-ring the node is a member of; an act of the node accessing a routing table for the node, the routing table including a plurality of routing partner nodes for each sub-ring in the spine of sub-rings, including the specified sub-ring; an act of the node broadcasting the message within the specified sub-ring in a manner that distributes the resource burden for broadcasting the message across a plurality of nodes that are members of the specified sub-ring, including: