Method and apparatus for providing network dependent application services

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 , wherein said second one or more application service contracts are provided by a second community of one or more PARs.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 , wherein said automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports further comprises: negotiating a shared secret between said first SAR and said preferred PAR to facilitate provisioning of said first one or more delivery transports.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing first one or more application service contracts to a community of one or more SAR(s) comprises providing one or more unapproved service contracts to a community of one or more SAR(s) for approval by the SAR(s).

Claim 6

The method of claim 4 , wherein said community of one or more SAR(s) approves said one or more unapproved service contracts through manifestation of a digital signature by the approving SAR(s).

Claim 7

The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first one or more application delivery transports and said second one or more application delivery transports comprise one or more virtual private network tunnels.

Claim 8

In a subscriber application routing device (SAR), a method comprising: receiving first one or more application service contracts from a first application service provider (Provider), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said first Provider, said first one or more application service contracts are provided by a community of one or more provider application routers (PARs); automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said first one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said first Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said first one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports comprises identifying a preferred PAR of said community of one or more PARs, and negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said preferred PAR; receiving second one or more application service contracts from a second application service provider (Provider), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said second provider; automatically provisioning second one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said second one or more application services provided by said second one or more servers of said second Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said second one or more application service contracts; and receiving selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said first and second Providers through selected ones of said first and second application delivery transports.

Claim 9

In a subscriber application routing device (SAR), a method comprising: receiving first one or more application service contracts from a first application service provider (Provider), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said first Provider, said first one or more application service contracts are provided by a community of one or more provider application routers (PARs); automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said first one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said first Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said first one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports comprises identifying a preferred PAR of said community of one or more PARs, and negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said preferred PAR; receiving second one or more application service contracts from a second application service provider (Provider), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said second provider; automatically provisioning second one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said second one or more application services provided by said second one or more servers of said second Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said second one or more application service contracts; and receiving selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said first and second Providers through selected ones of said first and second application delivery transports.

Claim 10

The method of claim 7 , wherein said SAR solicits said first one or more application service contracts from said first provider.

Claim 11

The method of claim 7 , wherein said first one or more application service contracts are received from said first provider through an encrypted control channel.

Claim 12

The method of claim 7 , further comprising: approving at least a subset of said first one or more application service contracts received from said first provider, and transmitting said approved one or more application service contracts back to said first provider.

Claim 13

The method of claim 7 , wherein said automatically provisioning said first one or more application delivery transports comprises automatically provisioning a first one or more virtual private network tunnels between said SAR and said first provider.

Claim 14

A subscriber application routing device (SAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the SAR to receive first one or more application service contracts from a first application service provider (Provider), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said first Provider, said first one or more application service contracts are provided by a community of one or more provider application routers (PARs); automatically provision first one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said first one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said first Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said first one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports comprises identifying a preferred PAR of said community of one or more PARs, and negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said preferred PAR; receive second one or more application service contracts from a second application service provider (Provider), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said second provider, automatically provision second one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said second one or more application services provided by said second one or more servers of said second Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said second one or more application service contracts, and receive selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said first and second Providers through selected ones of said first and second application delivery transports; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 15

A subscriber application routing device (SAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the SAR to receive first one or more application service contracts from a first application service provider (Provider), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said first Provider, said first one or more application service contracts are provided by a community of one or more provider application routers (PARs); automatically provision first one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said first one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said first Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said first one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning first one or more application delivery transports comprises identifying a preferred PAR of said community of one or more PARs, and negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said preferred PAR; receive second one or more application service contracts from a second application service provider (Provider), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said second provider, automatically provision second one or more application delivery transports to facilitate delivery of said second one or more application services provided by said second one or more servers of said second Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said second one or more application service contracts, and receive selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said first and second Providers through selected ones of said first and second application delivery transports; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 16

The SAR of claim 12 , wherein said SAR solicits said first one or more application service contracts from said first provider.

Claim 17

The SAR of claim 12 , wherein said first one or more application service contracts are received from said first provider through an encrypted control channel.

Claim 18

The SAR of claim 12 , further comprising instructions to approve at least a subset of said first one or more application service contracts received from said first provider, and transmit said approved one or more application service contracts back to said first provider.

Claim 19

The SAR of claim 12 , wherein said instructions to automatically provision said first one or more application delivery transports further comprises instructions to automatically provision a first one or more virtual private network tunnels between said SAR and said first provider.

Claim 20

In a subscriber application routing device (SAR), a method comprising: receiving one or more application service contracts from an application service provider (Provider), said one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to one or more application services provided by one or more servers of said Provider; requesting from the Provider a list of provider application routers (PARs) identified as being able to support a given contract of said one or more application service contracts; automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports between said SAR and a selected one or more of said listed PARs to facilitate delivery of said one or more application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports comprises negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said selected one or more of said listed PARs; and receiving selected ones of said application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of said application delivery transports respectively.

Claim 21

In a subscriber application routing device (SAR), a method comprising: receiving one or more application service contracts from an application service provider (Provider), said one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to one or more application services provided by one or more servers of said Provider; requesting from the Provider a list of provider application routers (PARs) identified as being able to support a given contract of said one or more application service contracts; automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports between said SAR and a selected one or more of said listed PARs to facilitate delivery of said one or more application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports comprises negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said selected one or more of said listed PARs; and receiving selected ones of said application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of said application delivery transports respectively.

Claim 22

The method of claim 17 , wherein said selected one or more of said listed PARs are selected by the SAR based at least in part upon response times of the respective PARs.

Claim 23

The method of claim 17 , wherein automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports comprises establishing one or more virtual private network tunnels between said SAR and said selected one or more PARs.

Claim 24

A subscriber application routing device (SAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the SAR to receive one or more application service contracts from an application service provider (Provider), said one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to one or more application services provided by one or more servers of said Provider, request from the Provider a list of provider application routers (PARs) able to support a given contract of said one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports comprises negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said selected one or more of said listed PARs; automatically provision one or more application delivery transports between said SAR and a selected one or more of said listed PARs to facilitate delivery of said one or more application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said one or more application service contracts, receive selected ones of said application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of said application delivery transports respectively; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 25

A subscriber application routing device (SAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the SAR to receive one or more application service contracts from an application service provider (Provider), said one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to one or more application services provided by one or more servers of said Provider, request from the Provider a list of provider application routers (PARs) able to support a given contract of said one or more application service contracts, wherein said automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports comprises negotiating a subnet between said SAR and said selected one or more of said listed PARs; automatically provision one or more application delivery transports between said SAR and a selected one or more of said listed PARs to facilitate delivery of said one or more application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider to clients of said Subscriber in accordance with said one or more application service contracts, receive selected ones of said application services provided by said one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of said application delivery transports respectively; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 26

The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein said selected one or more of said listed PARs are selected by the SAR based at least in part upon relative response times of the respective PARs.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein said instructions for automatically provisioning one or more application delivery transports further comprises instructions for establishing one or more virtual private network tunnels between said SAR and said selected one or more PARs.

Claim 28

In a provider application routing device (PAR), a method comprising: providing first one or more application service contracts to a first community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider; providing second one or more application service contracts to a second community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said Provider; and delivering selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of a first one or more application delivery transports provisioned between said first community of one or more SARs and said PAR and a second one or more application delivery transports provisioned between said second community of one or more SARs and said PAR, wherein said selected ones of said first one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said first community of one or more SARs and said PAR, and further wherein said selected ones or said second one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said second community of one or more SARs and said PAR.

Claim 29

In a provider application routing device (PAR), a method comprising: providing first one or more application service contracts to a first community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider; providing second one or more application service contracts to a second community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said Provider; and delivering selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of a first one or more application delivery transports provisioned between said first community of one or more SARs and said PAR and a second one or more application delivery transports provisioned between said second community of one or more SARs and said PAR, wherein said selected ones of said first one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said first community of one or more SARs and said PAR, and further wherein said selected ones or said second one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said second community of one or more SARs and said PAR.

Claim 30

The method of claim 23 , wherein the selected ones of said first and second application services are delivered to one or more clients of said first community of one or more SARs.

Claim 31

The method of claim 23 , wherein said PAR is one of a community of PARs.

Claim 32

The method of claim 25 , further comprising: identifying which PAR(s) amongst the community of PARs are able to support a selected one of said first one or more application service contracts; and notifying said first community of one or more SARs as to which PARs are able to support the selected one of said first one or more application service contracts.

Claim 33

The method of claim 23 , wherein said first one or more application delivery transports comprise first one or more virtual private network tunnels.

Claim 34

A provider application routing device (PAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the PAR to provide first one or more application service contracts to a first community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider, provide second one or more application service contracts to a second community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said Provider, and deliver selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of a first one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said first community of one or more SARs and a second one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said second community of one or more SARs, wherein said selected ones of said first one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said first community of one or more SARs and said PAR, and further wherein said selected ones or said second one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said second community of one or more SARs and said PAR; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 35

A provider application routing device (PAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the PAR to provide first one or more application service contracts to a first community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider, provide second one or more application service contracts to a second community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said second one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to second one or more application services provided by second one or more servers of said Provider, and deliver selected ones of said first and second application services provided by said first and second one or more servers of said Provider through selected ones of a first one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said first community of one or more SARs and a second one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said second community of one or more SARs, wherein said selected ones of said first one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said first community of one or more SARs and said PAR, and further wherein said selected ones or said second one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said second community of one or more SARs and said PAR; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 36

The PAR of claim 28 , wherein the selected ones of said first and second application services are delivered to one or more clients of said first community of one or more SARs.

Claim 37

The PAR of claim 28 , wherein said PAR is one of a community of PARs.

Claim 38

The PAR of claim 30 , further comprising instructions to: identify which PAR(s) amongst the community of PARs are able to support a selected one of said first one or more application service contracts; and notify said first community of one or more SARs as to which PARs are able to support the selected one of said first one or more application service contracts.

Claim 39

The PAR of claim 28 , wherein said first one or more application delivery transports comprise first one or more virtual private network tunnels.

Claim 40

In a provider application routing device (PAR), a method comprising: providing first one or more application service contracts to a community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider; and delivering selected first ones of said one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said Provider through a selected one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said community of one or more SARs, wherein said selected one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said community of one or more SARs and said PAR.

Claim 41

In a provider application routing device (PAR), a method comprising: providing first one or more application service contracts to a community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider; and delivering selected first ones of said one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said Provider through a selected one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said community of one or more SARs, wherein said selected one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said community of one or more SARs and said PAR.

Claim 42

A provider application routing device (PAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the PAR to provide first one or more application service contracts to a community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider, deliver selected ones of said first one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said Provider through a selected one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said community of one or more SARs, wherein said selected one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said community of one or more SARs and said PAR; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.

Claim 43

A provider application routing device (PAR) comprising: a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions, which when executed cause the PAR to provide first one or more application service contracts to a community of one or more subscriber application routers (SAR), said first one or more application service contracts specifying subscriptions to first one or more application services provided by first one or more servers of said Provider, deliver selected ones of said first one or more application services provided by said first one or more servers of said Provider through a selected one or more application delivery transports provisioned by said community of one or more SARs, wherein said selected one or more application delivery transports are provisioned by negotiating a subnet between said community of one or more SARs and said PAR; and an execution unit coupled to the storage medium for executing the plurality of programming instructions.