Patent ID: 7739375

Claim:
In a UPnP network, a method for multicasting a byebye message by proxy, the method comprising: maintaining a list of available networked devices, including a first list with the availability of a first networked device accessible through a first network interface and a second list with the availability of the first networked device through a second network interface; maintaining a record of advertised UPnP elements as follows: receiving a ssdp:alive message for a UPnP element; extracting a universal resource locator (URL) parameter from the alive message; using the URL parameter to determine a MAC address for a networked device; using the determined MAC address, accessing the list of available networked devices; and, if the determined MAC address is found in the list of available networked devices, adding the UPnP element to the record; comparing the list of available networked devices to the record of UPnP elements to determine advertised UPnP elements in the record that cannot be cross-referenced to available networked devices, and so determine network devices that left the network without broadcasting a byebye message; in response to comparing the list of available networked devices to the record of UPnP elements, removing UPnP elements from the record that are associated with unavailable networked devices that left the network without broadcasting a byebye message as follows: performing a search for the first networked device via the first network interface; detecting the unavailability of the first networked device; performing a search for the first networked device via the second network interface; and, detecting the unavailability of the first networked device; and, multicasting a byebye message for advertised UPnP elements that are no longer available, associated with networked devices that are no longer available that left the network without broadcasting a byebye message, including multicasting a byebye message for UPnP elements associated with the first networked device via both the first and second network interfaces.