Patent ID: 8095600
Filing Date: 2012-01-10
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. At a computer system, a method for sending communication in a federation infrastructure represented by a 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 below the root ring, the plurality of lower sub-ring levels defined in accordance with a plurality of different user-defined proximity category types corresponding to each lower sub-ring level, wherein the root ring includes all the nodes in the linked list of nodes, and the plurality of lower sub-ring levels are arranged relative to one another within the hierarchical tree in accordance with a plurality of different proximity criteria representing the different user-defined proximity category types, each lower sub-ring level including a plurality of different sub-rings, each different sub-ring representing a corresponding different equivalence class of nodes based on assigned values for one or more of the plurality of different proximity criteria for the corresponding different proximity criteria category type for the lower sub-ring level, 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 in the same proximity category type corresponding to the same lower sub-ring level and nodes of different equivalence classes within the same lower sub-ring level have at least one different value for the plurality of different proximity criteria in the same proximity category type corresponding to the same lower sub-ring level, and wherein nodes within the same equivalence class use intra-proximity communication to communicate between one another and nodes within different equivalence classes use inter-proximity communication to communicate between one another, the method comprising: