WO2000059230A1 - A method and a device for managing resources in a network - Google Patents
A method and a device for managing resources in a network Download PDFInfo
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- WO2000059230A1 WO2000059230A1 PCT/US2000/008489 US0008489W WO0059230A1 WO 2000059230 A1 WO2000059230 A1 WO 2000059230A1 US 0008489 W US0008489 W US 0008489W WO 0059230 A1 WO0059230 A1 WO 0059230A1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/40—Bus networks
- H04L12/40052—High-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus
- H04L12/40058—Isochronous transmission
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
- H04L12/2805—Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
- H04L12/2807—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network
- H04L12/2814—Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/40—Bus networks
- H04L12/40052—High-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus
- H04L12/40065—Bandwidth and channel allocation
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/40—Bus networks
- H04L12/40052—High-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus
- H04L12/40117—Interconnection of audio or video/imaging devices
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/436—Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
- H04N21/43615—Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
- H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
- H04N21/4524—Management of client data or end-user data involving the geographical location of the client
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
- H04N21/458—Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations
- H04N21/4583—Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
- H04N21/47214—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
- H04L12/2807—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network
- H04L12/2809—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
- H04L12/2807—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network
- H04L12/2812—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
- H04L2012/2847—Home automation networks characterised by the type of home appliance used
- H04L2012/2849—Audio/video appliances
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
- H04L2012/2847—Home automation networks characterised by the type of home appliance used
- H04L2012/285—Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
Definitions
- the present invention pertains generally to the field of consumer electronic devices. More specifically, the present invention pertains to the field of networked consumer electronic media devices.
- One embodiment described herein is a resource manager for providing a centent-centric view of a network of consumer electronic devices.
- An entertainment system typically includes a number of consumer electronic media devices such as televisions, compact disc (CD) players, tuners, digital video disc (DVD) players, a video cassette recorders (VCRs) and high- fidelity speakers.
- consumer electronic media devices such as televisions, compact disc (CD) players, tuners, digital video disc (DVD) players, a video cassette recorders (VCRs) and high- fidelity speakers.
- Many sets of wires are usually required to connect these components together to provide the desired functionality. For example, a wire is required for connecting the DVD player to the TV and another wire is required for connecting the DVD player to the tuner. Yet another wire is required for connecting the tuner to the speakers.
- Most of these devices only have a limited
- the IEEE 1394 standard is an international standard for implementing an inexpensive highspeed serial bus architecture which supports both asynchronous and isochronous format data transfers.
- the IEEE 1394 standard provides a highspeed serial bus for interconnecting digital devices thereby providing universal input/output connection.
- the IEEE 1394 standard defines a digital interface for applications thereby eliminating the need for an application to convert digital data to an analog form before it is transmitted across the bus.
- a receiving application will receive digital data from the bus, not analog data, and will therefore not be required to convert analog data to digital form.
- the IEEE 1394 standard is ideal for consumer electronics communication in part because devices can be added to or removed from the serial bus while the bus is active. If a device is so added or removed, the bus automatically reconfigures itself for transmitting data between the then existing devices. Each device on the bus is a "node" and contains its own address space.
- the provision of the IEEE 1394 serial communication bus for networking consumer electronic devices has allowed the development of an entertainment network that consists of a large number of consumer electronic devices.
- the provision of the IEEE 1394 serial bus enables a single source device to provide content to multiple destination devices. For example, a DVD player located in the living room can be shared by multiple TV sets located in the bedrooms and in the kitchen.
- a problem associated with sharing source devices within the entertainment network is that multiple users may want to use the same source devices at the same time. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an access control system that allocates control of the devices intelligently.
- bandwidth contention Another problem associated with such an entertainment network is bandwidth contention. For example, if many TV sets and DVD players are connected to the home network, the IEEE 1394 serial bus may not have sufficient bandwidth to support multiple simultaneous isochronous channels for multiple video streams. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method of managing a network of consumer electronic media devices. It would also be advantageous to provide a method of managing resources within a network of consumer electronic media devices such that the problem of bandwidth contention is addressed.
- a home entertainment network may include several DVD players and DVD jukeboxes each capable of holding hundreds of DVDs. It would be difficult for a user to browse through every devices to locate the desired DVD. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method of managing resources within the home network such that complicated management and control of the devices are hidden from the users.
- Another problem associated with an entertainment network is that, when connected to the Internet, the consumer electronic devices and information contained therein may become compromised due to unauthorized access from third party users (e.g., hackers). Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method of managing resources within the home network such that the devices are protected from misuse and unauthorized accesses.
- the present invention provides an intelligent centralized resource allocation, reservation and access control system for a home network. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of managing resources within a network such that the users, user applications and system processes, etc., are presented with a "service-centric” or “content-centric” view of the network rather than a "device-centric” view of the network. The present invention also provides a method of managing resources within an entertainment network such that requested services can be delivered to a user without requiring the user to directly control the devices.
- the home network is a home entertainment network.
- the network e.g., home network, office network
- the network includes a plurality of consumer electronic media devices (e.g., Digital Video Disc Players, TVs, etc.) and a home server coupled together via high speed connections such as the IEEE 1394 bus.
- consumer electronic media devices e.g., Digital Video Disc Players, TVs, etc.
- home server coupled together via high speed connections such as the IEEE 1394 bus.
- users and user applications of the home network have no direct control over the devices. Rather, users and user applications can only request the software resource manager, which has complete control over all the resources of the network, to provide services.
- the resource manager upon receiving a service request from a. user, the resource manager translates the service- specific (or, content-specific) request into device-specific information, and determines whether the devices necessary for providing the media service are available. The software resource manager also determines whether a routing path between the necessary devices has sufficient bandwidth for providing the requested media service. If necessary devices and bandwidth are available, the software resource manager then sends control signals to the proxies of the devices and causes them to provide the requested media services. In this manner, resources of the entertainment network are hidden from the users and other user applications. Because the devices and device proxies are isolated from the user applications, a secure entertainment network can also be achieved.
- the software resource manager maintains a resource database for tracking the availability of consumer electronic devices of a home entertainment network. Once a device is in-use, or otherwise becomes unavailable, the device is removed from the resource database. When the device becomes available again, it is added to the resource database. In this way, the software resource manager can easily determine the availability of the devices.
- the software resource manager further maintains a path database for tracking the availability of the routing paths between the devices. The path database stores all possible routing paths between all the devices and the bandwidth requirements for all the devices. With such information, the software resource manager can then readily determine whether the network can provide sufficient bandwidth to deliver the requested media service.
- the software resource manager provides a reservation database for storing resource reservation information based on clock or calendar time.
- the resource manager is configured for receiving a request for a future media service. The request is then stored within the reservation database.
- the home server of the present invention further provides a scheduler for scheduling the execution of the requested media service at a future time.
- Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating components of a home server in accordance with the present invention.
- Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary entertainment network in which embodiments of the present invention may be practiced.
- FIG 3 is a logical block diagram of the software processes of a home server illustrated in Figure 2 in accordance with the present invention.
- Figure 4 is a data flow diagram illustrating the communication protocol between user application and software resource manager illustrated in Figure 3 in furtherance of the present invention.
- Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating steps of the process of managing network resources according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- Figure 6 is a flow diagram illustrating steps of the process of reserving network resources according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- Figure 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a process of managing resources within a home network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
- Figure 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a process of configuring devices of a home network with meta-information in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
- Figure 9 illustrates a logical diagramof an exemplary 2-hour video clip a service request list that describes how the video clip should be played according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- Figure 10 illustrates a portion of the hierarchical structure of an exemplary service request list in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
- a home server or other intelligent electronic device such as a set-top-box for the entertainment network in accordance with the present invention includes a general purpose computer system 101 operable as a platform to implement and support elements of the present invention.
- computer system 101 includes an address/data bus 102 for communicating information including address, data, and control signals, a central processor 104 coupled with bus 102 for processing information and instructions, a volatile memory 106 (e.g., random access memory RAM) coupled with the bus 102 for storing information and instructions for the central processor 104 and a non-volatile memory 108 (e.g., read only memory ROM) coupled with the bus 102 for storing static information and instructions for the processor 104, a data storage device 110 such as a magnetic or optical disk and disk drive coupled with the bus 102 for storing information and instructions, an optional display device 118 coupled to the bus 102 for displaying information to the computer user, an optional alphanumeric input device 114 including alphanumeric and function keys coupled to the bus 102 for communicating information and command selections to the central processor 104, an optional cursor control or directing device 116 coupled to the bus 102 for communicating user input information and command selections to the central processor 104, and a communication device 112 coupled to
- Program instructions executed by the home server 101 can be stored in computer usable memory units such as RAM 106, ROM 108, or in the storage device 110, and when executed in a group can be referred to as logic blocks or procedures. It is appreciated that data produced at the various stages of the present invention, including path availability information and resource availability information, can also be stored in RAM 106, ROM 108 or the storage device 110 as shown in Figure 1.
- the display device 118 of Figure 1 utilized with the computer system 101 of the present invention is optional and may be a flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD) device, a TV, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or other display device suitable for creating graphic images and alphanumeric characters recognizable to the user.
- the cursor control device 116 allows the computer user to dynamically signal the two dimensional movement of a visible pointer on a display screen of the display device 118.
- Many implementations of the cursor control device are known in the art including a trackball, mouse, joystick or special keys on the alphanumeric input device 114 capable of signaling movement of a given direction or manner of displacement.
- FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary entertainment network 200 in which the present invention may be practiced.
- Exemplary network 200 includes consumer electronic media devices (including computer systems) as nodes but could be extended equally well to cover other electronic devices.
- Exemplary network 200 includes a digital video camera 210, a video cassette recorder (VCR) 212, a home server 214, a set-top-box 213, television sets (TVs) 211a- 211c, a compact disc (CD) jukebox 220 and DVD players 222a-222b connected together by IEEE 1394-1995 (IEEE 1394) bus 215.
- the set-top-box 213 can be coupled to receive media from a cable TV system.
- the IEEE 1394 bus lines, or "cables,” allow the consumer electronic media devices to transmit data, commands and parameters to other devices of the network 200.
- home network 200 illustrated in Figure 2 is exemplary only and that a home network in accordance with the present invention could include many different combinations of components. It should also be appreciated that consumer electronic devices of the network 200 may be accessed via user applications such as a web-browser.
- the IEEE 1394 communication standard within network 200 of Figure 2 supports isochronous data transfers of digital encoded information.
- Isochronous data transfers are real-time transfers which take place such that the time intervals between significant instances have the same duration at both the transmitting and receiving applications.
- Each packet of data transferred isochronously is transferred in its own time period.
- An example of a "real-time" application for the transfer of data isochronously is from VCR 212 to TV 211a of Figure 2.
- the VCR 212 records images and sounds and saves the data in discrete packets.
- the VCR 212 then transfers each packet, representing the images and sounds recorded over a limited time period, during that time period, for display by the TV 211a.
- the IEEE 1394 standard bus architecture provides multiple channels for isochronous data transfers between applications. Specifically, a six bit channel number is broadcast with the data to ensure reception by the appropriate application.
- This feature of the IEEE 1394 bus allows multiple devices to simultaneously transmit isochronous data across the bus structure.
- This feature also enables media (e.g., CDs, DVDs, video cassettes, etc.) to be distributed across the home network 200. Further, this feature enables the devices of the entertainment network 200 to be distributed across the home.
- PRESENT INVENTION In conventional home networks, users are presented with a "device- centric" view of the network. That is, users of conventional home networks are given a list of devices in the network, and the users must individually control each electronic devices in the network to get the desired functionality. For example, a user desiring to play a DVD must first select the DVD player from a user-interface of the home network system and then selects a "play" button. Such a "device-centric" view of the home network can be cumbersome and complicated for the users if a large number of devices are connected to the home network.
- the resource manager of the present invention provides a solution to this problem by enabling the home network to present to the users a "content-centric” view, or “service-centric” view, of the network.
- users when presented with a “content-centric” view or “service-centric” view, users can select the content or service available from the network without regard to the devices that contain and provide the service.
- audio/visual (A/V) streams, movies stored on DVDs (or VCDs, etc.), sound tracks stored on CDs, web- pages, etc., that are accessible by a home network are considered “contents”.
- “Services” herein refer to systems and methods of providing the users of the home network with the content accessible by the network and use of the devices of the network.
- a service provided by the home server may be the delivery of a movie to a particular room in the house.
- the "content" in this case would be the A/V streams of the movie stored within a DVD jukebox coupled to the home network, and the "service” would be the delivery of the A V streams to the family room.
- the resource manager of the present invention manages the resources underlying the service delivery operations such that services can be performed with minimal user control, significantly improving the ease-of-use of home audiovisual devices.
- the resource manager of the present invention also determines whether a service will be provided to a particular user (e.g., authorized user) with a policy-checking mechanism.
- FIG. 7 is a flow chart diagram illustrating a process 700 of managing resources within a home network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
- users of the home network are not presented with information regarding the devices of the home network. That is, users are not presented with a "device-centric” view of the home network. Rather, users are presented with a "content-centric” or “service-centric” view of the network.
- users do not control the devices directly to achieve the desired goals. Rather, the users request
- the requests may be granted or denied depending upon the identity of the user, the associated access policies and the availability of resources.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment receives a service request from a user.
- a service request may be "play a movie M at the family room.”
- users may explicitly indicate the location where the services are to be delivered. If the location is not explicitly indicated by the users, the location can be inferred from the location where the request is made.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment determines the identity of the user making the service request.
- the identify of a user can be ascertained by requiring the user to go through a user authentication process (e.g., a "log in” process) before the user is permitted to make a request for selected services. Any number of well known user authentication processes can be used in accordance with the present invention.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment checks a database of pre-programmed and pre-determined policy statements, and at step 740, determines whether any policy statements are violated by the service request.
- An example of a policy statement would be "user A can only watch G- rated movies.” Thus, in this example, if the movie M is an "R-rated" movie and if user A is the user making the request, the policy statement would be violated.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment may also perform a step 735 of checking a user-activities record to determine whether any policy statements are violated.
- a user-activities record may be "user X may watch Y hours of TV per day.”
- the resource manager of the present embodiment accesses the user-activities record and determines whether user X has watched more than Y hours of TV that day.
- the resource manager denies the request and informs the user that the requested service is not permitted at step 770.
- the resource manger checks the availability of the resources that are necessary for bringing about the requested services. For example, if a DVD-player is needed for performing the requested service, then the resource manager will check whether the DVD-player is in use.
- the resource manager determines whether the resources needed for carrying out the requested service are available. It is important to note that, in accordance with the present embodiment, network bandwidth is a resource that is considered.
- the resource manger will send appropriate control signals to the devices (or the device proxies) such that the requested service can be performed.
- the resource manager denies the request and informs the user that the requested service is not available. It should be noted that, if the incoming request has a higher priority than the request that is currently occupying a resource, then the resource manger grants the high priority request and terminates the service that is currently provided for the low priority request.
- Figure 8 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of the present invention.
- the resource manager of the present invention may perform additional functions not specifically requested by the user. For example, the resource manager may determine that a certain movie may be best viewed when surround sound effects are turned on. Such preference information may be stored as meta-data of the content. The resource manager of the present invention, upon detecting such information, may automatically turn on surround sound effects of the output devices at the location where the services are rendered.
- the resource manager receives a service request from a user.
- the service request may be "play a movie M in the family room.”
- the resource manager of the present embodiment determines the identity of the user making the request.
- the identify of a user can be ascertained by requiring the user to perform a user authentication process (e.g., a "log in” process) before the user is permitted to make a request for services.
- a user authentication process e.g., a "log in” process
- User authentication processes are well known in the art, and are therefore not described in detail herein to avoid obscuring aspects of the present invention.
- the resource manager also retrieves preference information associated with the user.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment determines whether the service request violates any policy statements and also determines whether the requisite resources are available. If it is determined that the services requested are not permissible and/or unavailable, the resource manager may refuse to provide the service to the user at step 835, and the process 800 ends.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment retrieves metadata associated with the content of the requested service.
- Meta-data may be the rating information, or the identity of the director of the movie, etc.
- the meta-data may also include information regarding the optimum device configuration for the content. For example, the meta-data of a movie may indicate that the movie is best viewed when surround sound is turned on.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment configures the devices of the network according to the meta-data associated with the requested service.
- Step 850 includes the step of sending appropriate control signals to the devices (or device proxies) of the home network.
- the resource manager will set up the TV to play the football game in a split screen mode - one screen for the quarterback camera and another for the receiver camera.
- the resource manager of the present invention performs the process for providing the requested service to the user including sending appropriate control signals to the devices (or device proxies) of the home network. Thereafter, the process 800 ends.
- the resource manager of the present invention may refuse to provide requested services to a user even when the resources are available.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment can be pre-programmed with "policy statements” that dictate the conditions under which certain "services” will be provided to certain users.
- An example of a "policy statement” would be "user X is allowed to watch only Y hours of TV per day.”
- the resource manager of the present embodiment would check whether the user has exceeded his daily limit of two hours of TV before performing the requested
- the resource manager will enforce the policy by refusing TV access to the user.
- some presentations may have different ratings (e.g., PG-13, R, etc.).
- the resource manager of the present invention may also allow or disallow different presentations of the same content.
- the home server of the present invention keeps track of the activities of the users via a logging manager. By keeping an accurate record of the activities of the users, more complicated policy statements can be applied by the resource manager. For instance, for the policy statement "user X can only watch TV programs for Y hours per day" to be enforceable, the daily activities of user X must be monitored.
- a logging manager maintains a record of user activities. The resource manager, in order to enforce the policy, accesses the record via the logging manager to determine whether the time limit has been reached. If the limit has been reached, the resource manager would enforce the policy by refusing to provide or halting the TV program services to user X.
- another policy statement may be "user Z can only spend $500 on on-line shopping each month.”
- the money spent will be recorded by the logging manager.
- the resource manager will determine whether the pre-defined limit has been spent. If not, the resource manager provides the requested services by allowing user Z to access the on- line shopping network via the home network. However, if the limit has been reached, the resource manager will enforce the policy statement by refusing user Z access to the on-line shopping network.
- the resource manager of the present invention manages "soft" resources in addition to "hard” resources.
- “hard” resources refer to the electronic devices, or hardware, of a home network.
- “Soft” resources refer to resources that are not “hard” resources. Examples of “soft” resources include a particular broadcast program, a TV channel, memory address space, a segment of an VCR tape that contains a movie or TV program, a home- shopping web-page, credits that can be used towards purchasing items on a home-shopping web-page, interactive games, etc.
- Another example of a "soft” resource is different camera shots for broadcast content. This can include different audio channels or meta-data.
- the definition of "soft" resources herein is broad.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment is capable of managing hard and soft resources.
- the resource manager of the present invention treats network bandwidth to be a "soft" resource.
- Network bandwidth is treated as a soft resource by the resource manager of the present embodiment because network bandwidth is limited.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment may refuse to provide a service if the requisite network bandwidth is unavailable.
- the resource manager of the present invention once the resource manager of the present invention has determined that a request for service does not violate any policy statements, the resource manager must determine whether the hard resources or soft resources necessary for providing such services are available. This is accomplished with the use of a resource pool. In the present embodiment, once a resource is used, it is removed from the resource pool. And, when a service is completed (or aborted by the user), the freed-up resources are returned to the resource pool. If resources become unavailable, they will be removed from resource pool. For instance, if a TV is unplugged, the TV resource will be removed from the resource pool.
- user Z requests a service for watching a movie at the family room and suppose the movie is stored as a DVD within a DVD-juke box.
- the resource manager upon determining that such a request does not violate any policy statements, will cause the DVD-juke box device (a hard resource) to be removed from the resource pool.
- the DVD containing the movie will also be removed from the resource pool.
- a certain amount of network bandwidth will also be removed from the resource pool because network bandwidth is required for delivering the movie service from the DVD-juke box to the TV in the family room.
- user X may request to watch a cartoon that is stored in the same DVD-juke box containing the DVD for the movie. Since the DVD-juke box is no longer in the resource pool, the resource manager will inform user X that the cartoon service is not available.
- An exception is that if user X has a higher access privilege than user Z, then services will be provided to user X, and any services currently provided to user Z will be terminated.
- FIG 3 is a logical block diagram of the software processes of a home server 214 in accordance with the present invention.
- software processes of home server 214 include a user application 310, a resource manager 320, a path database 330 and a resource pool 340.
- Software processes of the home server 214 further include a reservation database 350 and a usage log 360.
- home server 214 includes a database 355 for storing policy statements.
- Home server 214 further includes a plurality of software device proxies 370a-370i each for controlling one of the devices of entertainment network 200.
- software device proxy 370c is for controlling TV 211c
- device proxy 370I is for controlling VCR 212, etc., that are coupled to the IEEE 1394 bus interface 380.
- the software device proxies 370 may include HAVI Device Control Modules (DCMs) and Functional Control Modules (FCMs).
- DCMs HAVI Device Control Modules
- FCMs Functional Control Modules
- user interface or user application 310 is not allowed to communicate directly with software device proxies 370. Rather, user application 310 communicates to the resource manager 320 the services that the user desires to be performed. Particularly, user application 310 receives a service request from a user or other entities, and transmits the request to the resource manager 320.
- the resource manger 320 of Figure 3 determines whether the service request violates any policy statements stored within policy database 355. Thereafter, the resource manager 320 determines the availability of the source and destination devices, and checks whether sufficient bandwidth is available for carrying out the requested action. If policy statements are not violated and the devices and the bandwidth are available, the resource manager 320 will return a "granted" signal to user application 310 and transmits the necessary control commands to the software device proxies 370a- 370i. The software device proxies 370a-370i then control the devices via IEEE 1394 bus interface 380. If the devices or the requisite bandwidth are not available, or if one or more policy statements are violated, the resource manager 320 will return a "denied" signal to the user application 310.
- resource manager 320 allows the resources of home network 200 to be checked-in or checked-out independent of application requests. At any time, the resource manager 320 can reclaim checked-out resources and reallocate them to other users. Likewise, a reserved resource can be reclaimed and reallocated to other users or reallocate them back into the resource pool 340.
- the resource manager 320 of Figure 3 upon initialization of the home server 214, scans the home network 200 and determines all the available resources. Data representative of the routing paths and their bandwidths are then stored within path database 330. Data representative of the available devices are stored within resource pool 340. As the resources of the home network 200 changes, the resource manager 320 modifies the path database 330 and the resource pool accordingly.
- User application 310 may also send a request for media services to be delivered at a future time.
- the request is in the form of a scheduled-event list.
- the scheduled-event list may indicate the time the scheduled-event is to be performed, and the necessary routing paths and device information.
- the resource manager 320 upon receiving the scheduled-event list, then checks the reservation database 350 to determine whether the devices and the routing paths have already been reserved by other processes. If not, the resource manager 320 then enters the devices and routing paths within the reservation database 350. The resource manager 320 also accesses a scheduler (not shown) to schedule the future execution of the scheduled-event list.
- Usage information of the network is stored within usage log 360 of Figure 3. According to the present invention, every time a request for media service is granted, the event list is stored within the usage log 360.
- the usage information can be used to track warranty information of the devices. In addition, the usage information can be used to track the network usage of each user.
- the usage information may also be used by the resource manager 320 for restricting access to certain users who have exceeded their usage limitation.
- the resource manager 320 is initialized before when the home server 214 is booted up. During the initialization phase, the resource manager 320 queries the home network for available resources and their respective "usage rights" and associated policies. As new resources are aded or removed from the home network, the resource database (or resource pool) 340 will be updated. The way the resource manager 320 discovers the new resource is through a system registry or system event process. The registry ro system event process is allowed to convey resource information and other information to the resource manager.
- Figure 4 is a logical block diagram 400 illustrating the data flow between user application 310 and resource manager 320 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Data paths between resource manager 320 and reservation database 350, resource pool 330, path database 340, policy database 355, usage log 360 and device proxies 370 are also illustrated. Resource manager 320 stores device usage information within the usage log 360. In addition, the resource manager 320 may send a Usagelnfo to the user application 310 when prompted.
- FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps of a process 500 for managing network resources according an embodiment of the present invention.
- the process 500 is described in conjunction with Figure 4.
- resource manager 320 receives an ExecuteNowEvent request from the user application 310.
- the ExecuteNowEvent request consists of information regarding identity of the user making the service request and the requested action.
- the ExecuteNowEvent request further includes information such as the source device (SourcelD), the destination device (DestlD) and the routing path between the source device and the destination device (PathlD).
- the resource manager 320 upon receiving the ExecuteNowEvent request, looks up the policy database 355 and determines whether any policy statements are violated by the service request.
- step 560 the resource manager 320 of the present invention denies the service request.
- the resource manager of the present embodiment looks up the resource pool 330 and determines if the requested source and destination devices are available.
- the resource pool 330 is a list of all devices connected to the network and is constructed upon initialization of the home server 210.
- the resource pool 330 is also continuously updated to keep track of devices that are added to and removed from the entertainment network 200. If the source and destination devices are already in-use by other users or user applications, a "Denied" signal is returned to the user application 310 at step 560.
- the resource manager 320 looks up the path database 340 to determine if there is sufficient bandwidth between the source device and the destination device.
- the path database 340 is a table for identifying the bandwidth requirements for all possible routing paths between the devices. Methods of calculating and determining the bandwidth requirements for all possible routing paths between the devices are well known in the art, and are therefore, not described herein to avoid obscuring aspects of the present invention. If the resource manager 320 determines that insufficient bandwidth is available, the resource manager 320 returns a "Denied" signal to the user application 310 at step 560.
- the requested resources are available, sends control signals to the device proxies 370 and causes the devices to carry out the media service request immediately at step 540, and returns a "Granted" signal to the user application 310 at step 550.
- the source devices and destination devices are removed from the resource pool 330, and the path database is updated to reflect the bandwidth usage at step 540.
- FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the steps of a process 600 for reserving network resources according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- the process 600 is described also in conjunction with Figure 4.
- resource manager 320 receives an ScheduledEvent request from the user application 310.
- the ScheduledEvent request consists of information regarding identity of the user making the media service request, the start time (StartTime) and end time (EndTime) of the scheduled event and the requested action.
- ScheduledEvent request may further include information such as the source device (SourcelD), the destination device (DestlD), the routing path between the source device and the destination device (PathlD).
- ScheduledEvent request may include two types of requests: ExecuteWallClockEvent and ExecuteCalendarEvent.
- the ExecuteWallClockEvent request is for scheduling future execution of requests based on a 24-hr clock.
- the ExecuteCalendarEvent is for scheduling future execution of requests based on the calendar. For example, the ExecuteWallClockEvent request is used for scheduling the recording of the "Evening News" at 6:00pm in the evening everyday. As another example, the ExecuteCalendarEvent request is used for scheduling the backing-up of the home computer system every Sunday.
- the resource manager 320 upon receiving the
- ScheduledEvent request looks up the policy database 355 and determines whether any policy statements are violated by the service request.
- step 660 the resource manager 320 of the present invention denies the service request.
- the resource manager 320 looks up the reservation database 350 and determines if the requested source and destination devices are available. If the source and destination devices are already reserved by other users or other user applications, an "Unavailable" signal is returned to the user application 310 at step 660.
- the resource manager 320 looks up the path database 340 to determine if other reservations would affect the bandwidth of the routing path between the source device and the destination device at the request period. If the resource manager 320 determines that the routing path will be affected, the resource manager 320 returns a Failure signal to the user- application 310 at step 660. If it is determined that the routing path will not be affected, the resource manager 320 then stores the SourcelD, DestlD, PathlD, StartTime and EndTime within the reservation database 350 at step 640, and returns a "Reserved" signal to the user application 310 at step 650.
- the resource manager of the present invention does not provide "services" unless the user has successfully registered with the home server system.
- the home server may include an access control manager (ACM) that acts as a gatekeeper for restricting use of the home network to authorized users.
- the access control manager (ACM) is similar to authentication software processes or procedures of multi-user computer systems. Once the user has successfully gained permission to access the home network and its resources, the resource manager of the present invention is then capable of determining the identity and preferences of the user.
- the resource manager will automatically configure the devices of the network performing the requested service to suit the user's preferences.
- the resource manager configures the devices by interfacing to the device proxy (e.g., DCM/FCM). For instance, if the user has pre-defined a preferred brightness value in the TV, and has logged and submitted a request for watching TV at a certain location, the resource manager will automatically adjust the brightness in the TV at that particular location to the preferred values.
- DCM/FCM device proxy
- This feature of the present invention significantly increases the ease-of-use of the home network and provides an easy way to customize all the devices of the home network for a multitude of users.
- Access Control Manager ACM
- MCA Media Binding Agent
- ACM Access Control Manager
- MCA Media Binding Agent
- the ACM may provide user information (e.g., age of users) to the resource manager 320 and the MBA may provide meta-information (e.g., rating information) of the content of the requested media service to the resource manager 320.
- user information e.g., age of users
- meta-information e.g., rating information
- conflict Resolutions Another responsibility of the resource manager 320 is to perform conflict resolutions within the network. If a user with a higher privilege wants to access a service originating from a single threaded device that is in use by another user with a lower privilege, the resource manager 320 attempts to resolve the conflict. It will send out a message informing the (source/destination) device is in use, and queries the more privileged user whether he/she desires to override the on-going service. A message notifying the user with the lower privilege may be sent indicating that their service is being terminated. When resources become available, the user with the lower privilege is free to re-reschedule the service. As long as there are limited resources and multiple service requests, only the service request with a higher priority will be serviced. In cases where multiple services with identical priorities request the same single threaded resources, a first come first serve policy will be observed.
- Another feature of the resource manager 320 is locking resources whereby users with lower privileges cannot access services and resources. For instance, a parent may prevent a specific category of music from playing in the home or may disallow TV viewing between the hours of 7:00AM to 5:00PM. With this feature, the parent can allocate services to children based on time slots. For example, a child be allowed to watch TV for 10 hours a week. The child is free to spend the 10 hours anyway, he/she feels fit. Once the 10 hours are consumed, no more TV time is permitted. The parent may put restrictions on the 10 hours of viewing time by preventing certain channels from being viewed and disallowing certain viewing hours.
- P. Attribute Control Another feature of the resource manager 320 is to control specific attributes of a resource device once a service has started.
- An example of this feature is regulating volume controls for a music category (e.g., rap, rock, etc.). This can be done for specific locations in a home or for all locations. If a child's room is the designation location for "rap" music and the resource manager 320 has previously configured the child's room for volume control, when the rap music plays in that room the volume controls will be regulated. A parent may want such volume control to prevent base waves from reverberating throughout the house. The resource manager 320 accomplishes this task by detecting the service category for the child's room and regulating volume control on the designation device.
- a music category e.g., rap, rock, etc.
- the attribute control functionality of the resource manager 320 may also be used to augment a service. For example, if a user is watching a horror movie in the family room, the resource manager 320 can draw the drapes and dim the lights (provided that the drape controls and the light controls are connected to the home network 200) while the movie is playing. As another example, if a telephone call is detected in the room where the movie is being viewed, the resource manager 320 can pause the movie and turn the lights on.
- an application wants to tune the cable set top box (STB) to channel 12 at 4:59 pm everyday, record a TV show at 5:00 pm everyday, rewind the VCR tape at 6:05 pm everyday, eject the tape from the VCR at 6:10 pm, then power off the VCR unit at 6:15 pm everyday, and forward all telephone calls between 9:00 am - 4:00 pm everyday, the application would have to develop complicated logic to perform these tasks. If a user varied his schedule the application logic would have to be modified to reflect the needs of the user. This would complicate the application and limit the flexibility of home networking applications.
- STB cable set top box
- the home-network applications schedule and executes any service, they have to know all the specific APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and dependencies for each consumer electronic device on the home network. If a new consumer electronic device with different methods is installed on the network and the consumer electronic device offers similar or identical features to existing devices on the network, the application would have to be re- architectured. Therefore, a database of services is necessary to abstract methods and idiosynchrocies from interconnected consumer electronic devices as well as logically group network services and schedule their execution over time.
- APIs Application Programming Interfaces
- a database of home-network services can be developed by encompassing interconnected consumer electronic device's methods into logical sub-classes and abstracting higher level unique services relative to a user's preference.
- the utility that performs these tasks is called the Request Executor Manager (REM) and it will logically associate database services from diverse components into unique services specific to a user's needs.
- the REM provide means for associating the services with a Service Request List (a.k.a. event list or SRL) which details the service actions.
- the REM further provides for a scheduler for executing each action (event) over time. Therefore, all the home-network application needs to do is query the REM database and submit a service request to be executed at a desired time (time can be absolute or relative).
- the service offerings listed in the REM database are relative to the aggregate consumer electronic device's capabilities across the home network and not necessarily from any single device or source. For example, if some audio and video content is being played to the TV, the video may be originating from one or more devices (i.e., a hard disk drive, DVD, etc.) while the audio signal may be originating from a completely different source device. From the user's perspective the audio/video (A/V) signal appears to be originating from the same source. Therefore, the application may not even know the home- network has multiple video sources that contain audio and video content. All the application sees is that content offerings originates from the REM service database. This feature is achieved by constructing a Service Request List
- SRL that details the source(s) and destination device(s) along with control and timing information.
- the SRL will contain information describing how the content is played back and possible special play features (i.e., video fade, scroll, overlay, etc.). For example, if a two hour video clip is designated as the source material, a SRL can be constructed that play only twenty minutes of video that has been designated significant. The SRL would be constructed in such a way that only the significant segments are viewed and the rest of the video segments are skipped.
- Figure 9 illustrates a logical diagram 900 of an exemplary 2-hour video clip 910.
- video clip 910 includes four segments 920a-920d each corresponding to segments of the video clip 910 that are designated significant.
- an SRL 930 that describes how the video clip 910 should be played such that only the appropriate segments are played.
- the SRL may contain plenty of detailed information about the source and destination devices. Also contained in the SRL may be information about how and when the video is played back. The SRL may also contain routing information that allows the source to be routed to the destination device. If a HAVI network is used, the Stream Manager would perform this task. Once the SRL has all the information it needs, it will essentially skip to the start of the significant video segments and play them until the end of the significant segment then repeat the process until the all the significant segments are played
- all the application may want to know is available program selections (i.e., movies, EPG, etc.) that can be recorded and viewed at a time to be determined in the future.
- the application queries the REM database for A/V content offerings and determines what it wants to view.
- AH service offerings can be scheduled at any time. This may be a calendar date, a sequence of times/dates, a relative time/date, or an absolute time/date.
- the application can create a SRL using the REM's API calls.
- the REM will provide methods that allow the application to construct, delete, and modify service request lists. Also, if the application chooses it can archive the SRL and call upon it in the future. The SRL can even be logically linked together allowing the ability to create more complex lists. To allow for greater flexibility individual SRL events can be modified throughout the life span of the SRL. A simple scenario might be to record "Sesame Street" everyday from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and make the program available for viewing anytime. This implies setting up a tuner, some kind of recording device, and archiving the content to a storage device. Once the program has been archived it must be made available to the application.
- the storage device would have to be accessed and the video stream would have to be routed to a display device. Controlling and managing all these devices, routing data, and scheduling each device to perform a task at specific times can become overwhelming. Nonetheless, the REM is designed to handle these kinds of operations with a minimal set of commands.
- the REM hides the device interface from applications and presents high level methods for controlling content and not devices. All the application has to do is query the REM service database and construct a SRL. For example, archive "Sesame Street" everyday and make the program available as a content selection that can be dynamically accessed. Once this is done the REM will create a complex "event- list" that contains all the specific details for controlling the network devices, routing information, and timing sequence. The "event-list” will be given an "event name" which the REM will maintain and make available to applications. Applications reference SRLs by the event name and can alter its characteristics at any time.
- SRLs are hierarchical data structures with the top level containing the "event name" and the lowest level containing all the device's specific commands necessary to carry out the desired service.
- the lower levels of the SRL i.e., unit level or sub-unit level if the list expands past the unit level
- Each level in the SRL contains timing information and attribute information. For example, if a set top box (STB) is to be setup for an operation, the REM may assign a setup execution time. At the unit level, individual times will be assigned by the REM for each operation in the setup sequence.
- STB set top box
- the event list is logically layered depending on the complexity of the service and the number of resources required for carrying out the service.
- the top level of the SRL (event list) structure is referenced as the Service Level. This level contains a handle for accessing the request list and descriptive information as well as liming information.
- the next level down in the SRL is referenced as the Component Level.
- high level commands can be issued for individual components. Also at this level heterogeneous components can be linked to perform specific operations.
- the individual component commands i.e., Power-On, Fast Forward, Seek, etc.
- the Sub-unit level more detailed commands are defined. For example, before a consumer electronic device can be powered onto a channel, the device has to be allocated. The device has to be polled to make sure it is on-line. All this is done at the Sub-Unit level.
- these low-level commands may be AV/C command that are sent to the device.
- an AV/C command may be set to a device issuing the specific power-on command. Once this is done the REM would wait for the device to respond with a status message (successful or unsuccessful).
- the SRL data structure may be even more complex and expand into more layers. This all depends of the level of complexity of the individual device and what operations are being requested.
- Figure 10 illustrates a portion of the hierarchical structure of an SRL 1000 that groups an STB, an AV-HDD and a logging database to perform a service.
- SRL 1000 has four different levels: Service Level 1010, Component Level 1020, Unit Level 1030 and Sub-unit Level 1040.
- SRL 1000 includes a service level command "Archive Sesame Street" 1012.
- the service level command 1012 is associated with five component level commands 1022a-1022e.
- component level commands are directed to components of the home network that are required for carrying out the service.
- command 1022a is directed- to an STB
- command 1022b is directed to an AV-HDD
- command 1022d is directed to a logging database, etc.
- Each of the component level commands 1022a-1022e are associated with unit level commands.
- component level command 1022a is associated with unit level commands 1032a- 1032c that are specific to a STB.
- Each of the unit level commands 1032a-1032c may be associated with sub-unit level commands (e.g., commands 1042a-1042c).
- sub-unit level commands 1042a- 1042c controls the sub-units of an STB.
- Time can be measured in terms of a calendar date or 24 hour wall clock time.
- the REM can be scheduled to perform a certain operation on every January 1.
- the REM may be scheduled to perform certain events every Monday through Friday at 5:00 pm.
- the REM defines events as occurring only once, repeatedly, or in given intervals as defined by the application.
- time can be relative to another event start time or end time. This is referred to an auto-follow event.
- a Rewind Event can be issued thirty seconds after the Power-On Event and after a Power-Off Event is issued a Message Event can be sent to an application. Therefore, the Rewind Event is dependent on the occurrence of the Power-On Event and the Message Event is dependent on the occurrence of the Power-Off Event.
- the REM is part of the middleware framework in a home/office system or network for delivery of audio/video presentations and other content. It concatenates or hierarchically aggregates smaller and simpler events into larger and more complex events.- It also executes events. It manages the event list data structure/database. It also provides read and write access to the event list to the applications level and to other components within the framework level.
- the REM treats events the same regardless of what device or devices they relate to.
- Devices include but are not limited to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, audio/video appliances, Internet or cable service interfaces, etc. This allows complex events to be built up that neatly package or encapsulate smaller events on disparate sets and types of devices. 2. Scheduling flexibility
- Events can be scheduled at absolute times or at times relative to the time at which they are scheduled.
- the schedule can be based on a time of day clock, a time and day of week, a time and specific date, etc.
- the schedule can be an auto-follow time, i.e. one that automatically follows the completion of another event.
- the schedule can be based on an asynchronous and even unpredictable event; for example, if the phone rings, up the room lights, mute the movie and answer the phone.
- Event lists represent a set of sub-events.
- the sub-events may be events defined as an event list, or they may be a "primitive" operation that is performed by a device in the system or network. There is no limit to the depth of nesting of events and sub-events and any event may contain any other event as one of its sub-events.
- events may represent an aggregation of sub-events on disparate device types.
- home control functions can be linked in with audio/video appliance functions -when the door bell rings, have the security camera output presented on the active television set.
- the user can schedule events that are meaningful to him. For example, what the user would like to think of as a "record" event, can hide or encapsulate the complexity of a lower-level series of sub-events: power on the recording device; check that it has tape / disk loaded, rewind the tape or position the disk, set recording parameters (e.g. SP mode on a video tape), and record.
- recording parameters e.g. SP mode on a video tape
- Another advantage of this is that events are centrally controlled. Users, applications programs and other middleware functions can access the current set of active and scheduled events in a consistent manner regardless of the device or devices supported.
- Event lists can represent both a sequence of events that fire (i.e. are initiated) in the order given in the list, or a multi-threaded set of events that occur concurrently. Also, via hierarchy, an event can be any combination of these two types of sets.
- One advantage of this feature is that, again, as the devices supported become more complex, the event structures automatically become more flexible and more able to handle the device complexity. Another is that, again, the user can work with higher-level events that are meaningful to him.
- the REM also provides support for and synergy with other middleware/framework functions. Additionally, the REM also provides support for and synergy with applications functions.
- the present invention a computer implemented process for managing resources within an entertainment network, has thus been described. By providing a centralized resource allocation and access control system, security of the entertainment network can be achieved. While the present invention has been described in particular embodiments, it should also be appreciated that the present invention should not be construed as limited by such embodiments, but should be construed according to the below claims.
Abstract
Description
Claims
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Also Published As
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EP1166564A1 (en) | 2002-01-02 |
WO2000059230A9 (en) | 2002-07-11 |
AU4183600A (en) | 2000-10-16 |
JP2002540739A (en) | 2002-11-26 |
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