WO2008047052A2

WO2008047052A2 - Method for two-step data transmission

Info

Publication number: WO2008047052A2
Application number: PCT/FR2007/052190
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philippe Dussaume; Yvon Guillot; Jean-Louis Cheviet
Original assignee: France Telecom
Priority date: 2006-10-20
Filing date: 2007-10-17
Publication date: 2008-04-24
Also published as: WO2008047052A3; EP2116009A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for controlling at least one communication established between at least two communication devices during a session, that comprises, on the one hand, the transmission of constitutive information describing the session and, on the other hand, the transmission of session data. According to the invention, the method also comprises the step of selecting at least one piece of said constitutive information during the occurrence of said session.

Description

A two-step data transmission method, device and corresponding computer program product.

The present invention relates to the field of communication management and more particularly of session in a session server controlling interconnections between at least two communication devices, a session comprising on the one hand constitution information describing the session and data. session.

Per session, we mean, "Session of use". A usage session differs from a communication session in that it incorporates a notion of service. For its part, a communication session is linked to the establishment of a communication between a user and a device to which he is connected.

Thus, a communication session is closed when the user disconnects from the device. In contrast, a usage session contains persistent data that remains after the communication session has expired. Thus a usage session may contain several communication sessions, several user identifiers, several service data, and give rise to successive activations of one or more communication devices.

The use sessions are for example implemented within the framework of extensions of the telephony / computer coupling in communication networks. The invention thus relates to the management of usage sessions.

The present invention relates more particularly to the field of application data transmissions in telecommunication systems.

In the current state of the art, a telecommunication system implementing the method described above includes a main communication network, such as a switched telephone network, able to connect a terminal made available to a user with the least a first means of communication implemented by a first client, said upstream client, identified for example as the first recipient of a communication initiated by the user, for example by dialing a predetermined code on an alphanumeric keyboard which is provided with his terminal. This first means of communication may for example be a home voice server capable of receiving a verbal request from the user and to direct this request, and therefore the communication in progress, to a second means of communication implemented by another client located within a second communication network, said downstream client, which has been identified by the upstream client as providing a service able to satisfy the request made by the user. The term "customer" should be understood here and in the remainder of the narrative to mean an entity that directly or indirectly solicits the resources of another entity to perform a task, a client that can be embodied by an autonomous server, a group of servers or by various elements separately distributed within various means of communication included in the system.

A transmission of data between the communication means of a communication system, such as those implemented by the applicant, generally induces an identification of these data to ensure that they are transmitted in accordance with the execution of applications. linked to actions initiated by a user or by a system element. The identification of these data is implemented by the implementation of communication sessions, which are used throughout the interactions between a user of a service and the communication means used in the execution of this service. The session mechanism, well known to those skilled in the art, makes it possible, particularly in the implementation of "n-third" information systems, to store information in order to allow continuity of service. Such a session is therefore likely to contain a large amount of data. More generally, a session has constitution information and data specific to it. In relation to FIG. 1, the principle of creation and transfer of use session is presented. In a first phase 10, a client 100 (101) requests an entity 102, the creation of a session. The entity 102 may either create the session or call (103) a session management entity 104 to build the session. This entity 104 then transfers (105) the session identifier to the entity 102 which transfers it (106) in turn to the client 100. In a second phase 11, the entity 102 that needs to obtain session data, requests (111) this data from the session management entity 104, which provides (112), the entire data 113 so that the entity 102 can render a requested service. For the purposes of the present description, a session may for example be represented as a transmission of a series of predetermined fixed length fields each comprising information representative of session data. These session data may be, for example, session contexts which contain a session identifier as well as session information. This information may include rights granted to this session. The session data can also be service or application execution contexts, including an identifier, access rights to resources, a header, and a body. The sessions are recorded in databases whose structure does not form part of the present invention. Thus the materialization of the session in a recording medium and / or storage is independent of its functional representation.

A follow-up of the communication sessions is provided within a session data management system, also called "Session Data Server", a particular mode of implementation of which is described in a French patent application referenced FR0502197 and filed the 04/03/2005. Such a "session data server" is able to communicate with the various clients necessary for the execution of a service or an application within a distributed information system and able to communicate with elements present in a distributed information system. different communication networks. It manages the complexity of the data exchange between the customers by transmitting them the data constituting the session. Clients use this data to carry out the processing for which they are responsible and send back the data of the session, possibly modified, either to a next client or to the session data server, this according to a management mode of the data. previously defined sessions. A disadvantage of this prior art session information management technique is related to the fact that the session data management system transmits the entire session data to the clients. Thus, the latter receive most of the time significant data volumes which pose numerous problems among which: an overload of the customers, as much in volume of data received and transmitted as in capacities of treatment of these data; the need for sizing communication networks to support exchanges between clients and the session data server; a report of the session management data complexity of the session data server to the clients.

As regards the session management system, this technique of the prior art also has drawbacks in particular: a system overload, both in terms of the volume of data received and transmitted, and the processing capabilities of these data; an increase in the risks of concurrent access to data distributed to several customers who act on identical data of the same session. Another disadvantage of this technique of the prior art is the necessary complexity of information system architectures resulting from the transmission of a very large volume of data. In fact, to be able to process and manage the entire data of the sessions, the customers of the information system must be oversized in relation to the actual tasks to be performed, otherwise the overall performance of the system will be impaired. This is not without its problems, especially concerning the terminals of the users. In the case of a telephone terminal known from the prior art, the integral transmission of session data requires the telephony operator to implement an additional client that has sufficient capacity to process the information. session. This implementation is not inconsequential, especially regarding the service costs resulting from such an implementation.

The invention proposes a solution that does not have these drawbacks of the prior art, thanks to a method of managing at least one communication established between at least two communication devices, during a session during which are transmitted on the one hand, constitution information describing the session and, on the other hand, session data.

According to the invention, said management method comprises a step of selecting at least one of said constitution information during the course of said session.

The management of the communication induces a session administration which is performed according to the invention by a selection of constitution information useful at a given time. Thus, it differs from session management methods according to the prior art which transmit all the information of a session to customers who request it. An optimization of the resources of the networks during the transmission of data is thus implemented. This is particularly useful if it is considered that a session may comprise a chain of successive activations of at least one communication device, thus making it possible to aggregate a large volume of constitution data, for example from different servers. which are successively implemented during the lifetime of the session.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, said selection step takes into account at least one parameter of a required level of detail, said level of detail making it possible to determine said constitution information to be transmitted.

For example, a client (which is a device that requires information from a server) has an indication of the information required. It can thus transmit this indication to the session management server. The method makes it possible, in one embodiment, to associate this information with a level of detail and can thus make it possible to truncate a session tree (tree built to from the chain of successive activations of the means of communication) and transmit only the relevant constitution information. In another embodiment, the client can have, using a suitable configuration, the level of detail itself and directly transmit this level of detail to the server that implements the method according to the invention.

According to one particular aspect of the invention, said selection step takes account of at least one enabling parameter, said authorization parameter defining rights of access to said constitution information.

Thus, client authorization is implemented, which makes it possible to establish a security policy that makes it possible to control access to the required information by the management method. In one embodiment of the invention, the management method may comprise a step of accessing a customer database and obtaining access authorization information from this database. According to a particular mode of implementation, said authorization parameter is associated with at least one group of clients authorized to access said constitution information.

Thus, it implements a concept of customer group. A group of clients may for example consist of a set of servers that can be implemented as part of the execution of a specific service. Thus, if to provide a user sports results that interest him, it is necessary to implement three servers that take turns to provide the desired service, it is then possible to define a group of customers composed of three necessary servers and to give these three servers an access authorization to the constitution information of the usage session.

According to an original characteristic of the invention, said management method comprises: a step of transmitting a part of said constitution information; a step of transmitting a subset of said session data which is associated with said portion of the constitution information transmitted.

The management method according to the invention thus optimizes the use of network resources. In fact, in addition to providing access to certain constitution data of the session and the possibility of restrictions of access to these constitution data, the invention makes it possible to transmit the data in two stages to the customers who request it. . At first, only the constitution information of the session is transmitted. In a second step, the associated data is transmitted. Thus, it avoids causing congestion in the communication networks by transmitting the information in two passes. According to a particular aspect of the invention, said step of transmitting said data includes a division of the session data to be transmitted as a function of at least data volume information to be transmitted contained within the constitution information.

Thus, the division of the data to be transmitted makes it possible to limit the use of network resources. Thus, if the data associated with the constitution information is bulky, the method according to the invention offers the possibility of splitting them into several packets which are successively transmitted to the clients.

According to an original characteristic of the invention, the session data to be transmitted are extracted from said session. In this embodiment, the data to be transmitted is included in the session. We thus have a correspondence between the structure of the session and the data it contains. It is therefore easier to maintain the consistency of the data. In another embodiment, the data may be available to another device on the network (eg, a session database) and transmitted to the client upon request by the device receiving the request.

According to a particular embodiment, when said data volume information to be transmitted represents a volume less than a predetermined threshold, said steps of transmission of said constitution information and said data are combined into a single transmission step. Thus, it is not necessary to carry out several transmissions when the size of the session data to be transmitted is below a given threshold, because then it is possible to consume more bandwidth with two transmissions than with a single one. A predetermined or negotiated threshold of data volume is therefore used to decide whether to transmit the information in several successive steps.

The invention also relates to a device for managing at least one communication established between at least two communication devices, during a session during which, on the one hand, constitution information describing the session is transmitted and, on the other hand, session data, said management device comprising means for selecting at least one of said constitution information in progress of said session.

Such a device will advantageously comprise generally means for implementing the session management method as described above.

In another embodiment, the invention also relates to a computer program product downloadable from a communication network and / or stored on a computer readable medium and / or executable by a microprocessor. According to the invention, in at least one embodiment, such a computer program product includes program code instructions for executing the session management method as described above.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment, given as a simple illustrative and nonlimiting example, and the appended drawings, among which:

FIG. 1, already described, is a block diagram presenting the principle of session transfer according to the prior art; Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the constitution of a session according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a possible mode of operation of a telecommunication system in which a transmission method according to the invention is implemented; FIG. 4 describes a simplified architecture of a session data management server according to the invention.

The invention proposes an asynchronous transmission of the application data of a session. The invention makes it possible to manage the usage sessions in the context of the implementation of services rendered to a customer by a service provider (such as a server), for example when the customer intervenes from a first network of services. communication, of the type Switched Telephone Network and that the services are implemented within a second communication network, for example of the Internet type.

A usage session can be defined as including a chain of successive activations of one or more means of communication, such as for example a terminal made available to a user or servers implemented by customers of a system. Communication.

The general principle of the invention is based on the knowledge of the data of a session and in particular on the taking into account of the information of constitution of the session during the transmission of the data of the session to the customers who request it. Thus, the invention makes it possible to transmit at a given moment, only the data and information useful to the progress of the application and whether it is a transmission from a first client to a second client or from a client to a session data management system and vice versa. The proposed solution is based on the implementation, within a session data management system, of the capacity to receive from its customers and to deliver them application data relating to a session of use by following two principles:

Split application data blocks exchanged from client to client (via the session data server) or client to data server from session, in a header and a body. These two elements can be transmitted separately or together, as needed.

The header of the block is intended to describe (constituent data) the contents of the application data block. The block body of the data block is intended to contain the application data.

In addition, it allows the integration in the block header of small volumes of application data. The body of the data block is then used to hold the data in the case of high volumes.

Thus, in the case of small data, a client can communicate or be communicated in one message all the application data (those of client-to-client exchanges) and their description.

In the case of high volume, only the descriptive data is transmitted at first. This descriptive data may include low volume application data. In a second step, at the request of the client, the application data with the highest volume are transmitted.

In this way, the method according to the invention manages to reconcile the low granularity of the messages, for a better control of the network and application loads, with the possibility nonetheless to quickly transport at once the relatively small information. Subsequently, we present the case of a session data management system allowing the transfer of several levels of detail in the communication of the session information to a target client. It is clear, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular application, but can also be implemented in many other fields, and for example in the transfer of data between different application processes of the same application or application. the same service, or between the applications of an information system invoked in an information flow management process, and more generally in all cases where the objectives listed below are interesting. Description of an embodiment

In this embodiment, the implementation of a session data management system allows the transfer of several levels of detail in the communication of the session information to a target client. To do this, an implementation of a session according to the invention is described, as well as the management of access rights to this session data as a function of information present in the session data.

Session

In order to enable application-based context exchange data services to be used in both an IT and telecom service environment, the session data server integrates session management, transaction management and transaction management mechanisms. sessions, information and data and network correlants (or tokens) associated with the sessions, and message management associated with the launching or execution of these operations.

A network correlant is information that brings the network closer to the service platforms (such as a technical intranet containing service platforms, capable of rendering the services provided to a user) and the user network (for example a telephone network, an Internet domain linked to an operator). More specifically, a network correlant can be established during a call to a callback server, for example to establish a telephone connection between Paris and New York through Jamaica. The callback server, based in Jamaica, establishes a telephone link between Jamaica and France and between Jamaica and the United States. To maintain the same service session, the reminder server uses a correlator. Thus, it ensures that the voice data will be correctly routed between the different telephone networks used in this session.

Within the session data server, a session: is designated by a unique public identifier (Id) (unique over a given period, which may be infinite); is accessible according to rights and rules; reference and / or contains data, which can be structured into blocks.

The session data server includes transaction management mechanisms for the sessions. Thus, within the session data server, a session may, for example, be the subject of the following operations: creation, on the initiative of a client (said initiating client or initiator) or one or more systems related to the network (s), internal (s) or external (s) to the session data server; association / dissociation to a correlator, temporary or permanent, local or global (with reference to one or more networks), intended to be carried on one or more networks, at the initiative of a client or one or more systems linked to the network (s), internal (s) or external (s) to the session data server. This correlator is intended to allow clients to reconcile network events and sessions and the session data server to verify the access rights of clients to the session; closing or closing, at the initiative of clients or the session data server, for example on a timer, or as part of the execution of a security strategy; maintenance, for example on the initiative of a client who does not wish to see it closed for a given period (possibly infinite); archiving all or part of the information and data attached to the session, at the initiative of clients or the session data server, for example on a timer; association / concatenation / merge with one or more other sessions, at the initiative of a client or one or more systems related to the network (s), internal (s) or external (s) to the server of session data; dissociation into several sessions, at the initiative of a client or one or more systems related to the network (s), internal (s) or external (s) to the session data server; - writing and / or reading and / or modification and / or execution of rights and / or rights rules relating to the session and / or its content, at the initiative of a client or one or more systems related to the network (s), internal (s) or external (s) to the server session data; association / dissociation of information or data relating to the session, at the initiative of a client or one or more systems linked to the network (s), internal (s) or external (s) to the session data server; writing or reading or modifying or executing information or data associated with the session or its content, on the initiative of a client or one or more systems related to the internal network (s) ( s) or external to the session data server.

The session ID is created during a session creation request from a client. This identifier then allows the session data server's clients to exchange information and data about that session, provided they have the right to do so. The initiating client of a session requests its creation from the session data server. The identifier of this session (public session ID) must be unique. It is generated either: by a system external to the client and the session data server, and is provided by the client to the session data server or by the session data server to the client; by the client (private session ID, private by nature), which requires to make it unique additional processing (operated by the client or the session data server), such as: concatenation of an identifier (or address ) from the client to I ¹ private session id provided by this client; if the client provides a private session id to the session data server, the session data server returns to the public session client I ¹ Id.

With reference to FIG. 2, a possible implementation of a session 200 is described. A session 200 is composed of an identifier 2001, information sessions and session branch contexts (201 to 20In). The session information includes: rights and rules 2002; an identifier of a creator client 2003 of the session; - information representative of the date and time of the beginning of the 2004 session; information representative of the date and time of the end of the 2005 session; information representative of the closure of the session 2006. The session can be divided into branches (201 to 20In) which can correspond to the execution of different services or applications in connection with the session. Such a branch 201 session is composed of a 2011 identifier, branch information and session blocks (202 to 202n). Branch information includes: - 2012 rights and rules; an identifier of a 2013 creator client of the branch; information representative of the 2014 branch start date and time; information representative of the date and time of the end of the 2015 branch; information representative of the closure of the 2016 branch; an identification of the customers participating in the branch 2017.

Session branches can contain session blocks. These session blocks include in particular session data which may be application data relating to the execution of services or applications in relation to actions performed for example by the initiating client.

Such a session block 202 is composed of an identifier 2021, block information of a block content 2024. The block information includes: - rights and rules 2022; an identifier of a creator client 2023 of the block; information relating to the content of the application data of block 203 comprising: information representative of the size of the application data of block 2031; an indication of a 2032 encryption of the application data of the block; a signature 2034 of the application data of the block; application data 2024 of the block; In a particular embodiment, the sessions may be single-branched, in which case the session 200 includes at the root the session blocks 202 to 202n.

Thus, a session according to the invention can be represented in the form of a hierarchical tree structure whose parent node is the session 200 comprising child nodes 201 to 201n corresponding to the branches of the session, a branch comprising child nodes 202 at 202n, corresponding to the blocks of the session, which contain the application data of the session. A session is thus composed of data (applications) and information of constitution of the session used to manage it. Very schematically, a session can be represented as consisting of data that will be used for the applications or services implemented during the session and information necessary for the interaction between the different clients (and the session data server). ) speakers in the session.

Each block contains information representative of the size of the application data contained in the block. Thus, it is possible to know the size of the application data of each block, branches and the session.

The session is a principle well known to those skilled in the art. The description which is made here makes it possible to describe the method of data transmission according to the invention. It goes without saying that any other implementation of a session can be used in the context of the invention. The invention retains sessions they can be identified and that they materialize a link between customers of a communication system and / or information. The term "client" here refers to an entity that solicits resources from another entity to perform a task. Session Data Access Rights

The session data server also includes mechanisms for managing clients and closed client groups, and a mechanism for managing session rights or session data of clients and closed client groups, and rights of clients and clients. closed subgroups of customers within closed customer groups. The rights associated with a session can be for example: read / write / modify the content of the session, and / or access rights thereto, and / or operations authorized on the session. The session data server also includes management policy support mechanisms that are implicitly defined (by default) and / or explicitly (by the session initiator) based on session rights or other rules.

These rights and rules can be described as masks (string of bits) or scripts (structured in an appropriate language).

The access rights to the session (or all or part of the referenced data and information) as well as the management of the access rights to the session are definable by the initiating client of the session. These rights can be defined by default by the session data server, which are then implemented if they are not defined by the initiator. The initiator can also define the rights of access and / or execution and / or modification of these rights attached to the data structuring blocks. The rights thus defined are assigned to sets of customers and / or closed groups of customers.

In one implementation mode, for the clients and client groups authorized to access a session, the rights associated with one or more data blocks may have priority over the rights associated with the session. Similarly, the initiator can be assigned intangibly or only implicitly all rights to a session and its content. Similarly, the creator of a block data can be assigned intangibly or implicitly all rights to this block and its contents. You can also choose to allow rights assignment to closed client groups only to customers who are members of these closed client groups. Finally, within closed client groups or globally within all of the session data server clients, the session data server can distinguish closed clients or subgroups from authorized or unauthorized clients, more statically, to be initiators of sessions.

Block data structuring allows issuing customers to distribute information and data to customers and closed groups of specific, freely chosen target customers. If it is defined as a target or belongs to a closed group of target customers, and it has a valid correlator for a session, a customer can view the information and access the authorized data. by the issuer (s).

Transmission of session information

The present invention therefore makes it possible to distribute the session data according to the needs of the customers. Thus, the session data server manages the concurrent requests to the session data without overloading the communication network. It also maintains the consistency of session data by ensuring that they are not updated in parallel by different resources.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the data transmission method and the information constituting this data according to the invention.

A telecommunication system SYST is dedicated to ensuring a transmission of DAT data between a terminal, for example a radiotelephone, a personal diary equipped with transmitting / receiving functionalities, or a microcomputer or a multimedia console, made available to users. a USR user of the SYST system, and a multiplicity of communication means, in the example described here SERVA and SERVB upstream and downstream data servers, all these communication means being able to communicate with each other via DLU, DLA and DLB data links established within a main communication network formed by a CTNW switched telephone network of the RTC type.

In the embodiment of the invention represented here, the service rendered consecutively to a request AxRq (T) issued by the user is implemented via two servers SERVA and SERVB, communicating with the user USR. through an INPF intelligent network platform that routes DAT data from the USR user terminal to the SERVA upstream data server that has been identified by the INPF platform as best able to respond to the request issued by the user USR, and therefore as the first recipient of the communication initiated by the USR user. The DAT data is exchanged between the INPF platform and the SERVA server via a DLA communication interface. The INPF intelligent network platform usually includes a SAC access switch controlled by an SCP service control point and is in itself well known to those skilled in the art, so that it will not be further described. right here.

When the upstream server SERVA receives the DAT data from the user terminal, it will simultaneously receive constitution information relating to said DAT data, and will have to ensure their integrity, as well as their storage if necessary. Indeed, it will often happen that the upstream server SERVA is not able, on its own, to carry out an exhaustive processing of the request AxRq (T) issued by the user USR, in which case said upstream server SERVA will have to make use of another SERVB server, called downstream server, to handle certain aspects of this request. In such a case, the upstream SERVA server will warn the INPF platform of the need for SERVB downstream server intervention, which will then be requested by said INPF platform and will be communicated by the upstream server SERVA the data. it is intended to process, via a DLB communication interface.

For example, the upstream server SERVA will be able to support a service providing general information and receive from the user USR a request for the purpose of being connected to a philatelic club close to its geographical location, which is included in the constitution information. The downstream SERVA server corresponding to the targeted philatelic club will then be attracted into the current session in order to satisfy the request of the USR user. The successive connections of the user terminal USR with the upstream server SERVA, then the user terminal USR with the downstream server SERVB are part of the same chain of successive activations of communication means and are therefore included in the same session, for example in the form of two constituent branches of the session or in the form of consecutive session blocks. In the embodiment of the invention represented here, when the upstream server SERVA has received the initial request AxRq (T) and has deduced that the intervention of a downstream server is at least partially necessary for the processing of said query, this upstream server SERVA will establish a communication with a session data server session data server, in order to organize a specific addressing of the constitution information received in parallel with this initial request AxRq (T) in the form of a session as previously described. The constitution of the session identifiers has already been described in a precise description in the FR0502197 application, so that it will not be better described here. The session data server session data server is able to communicate via a specific SCNW communication network, for example a dedicated intranet type network (such as a technical intranet comprising service platforms), with the various means of communication. communication to be activated during the session. The SERVA server communications and SERVB with the session data server are implemented through two SLA and SLB communication interfaces.

In this embodiment of the invention, the SERVA server instructs the session data server session data server to maintain the session. When the session data server session data server receives a request for transmission of application data contained in the session by the SERVB server, it transmits thereto information constituting the session. This session constitution information is representative of the request issued by the SERVB server. Thus, in this embodiment, the session data server may allow multiple levels of detail in the communication of information to a target client, such as the SERVB server. This may for example apply for and receive: a communication I ¹ public session id; a communication of the description of the session; - a description of all or part of the blocks of the session; a data communication of all or part of the blocks of the session.

Thus, a client of the session data server may initially require a description of the session and then, in a second step, request the only block data that are useful to him. This greatly optimizes the transfer of data on the dedicated network.

In a particular embodiment, communication by the session data server of the session description and that of all or part of the blocks of the session may be coupled, depending on parameters related to the size of session data. Thus, the session data server can, depending on a size of block body and parameters related to the load of the network and the available bandwidth, for example, decide: to transmit the descriptive information of the session, as part of a first response to a request issued by a client (eg SERVB); to transmit the session data as part of at least a second response to the same request.

In this way, the client first receives a description of the data that allows him to prepare the execution of the required service. This increases the processing capacity of the customers and reduces the network load.

Similarly, in terms of rights, in some modes of implementation, a prioritization of "block" rights and "session" rights can be made. The session data server allows several levels of detail in the communication of its rights or the rights of other clients or closed groups of customers to a given client: communication of the only rights specific to the requesting client resulting from the application of the rules of prioritization of rights; communication of the detailed detailed rights specific to the requesting customer and, provided that it is an authorized customer: - communication to the requesting customer of rights concerning one or more customers or closed customer groups and resulting from the application of the rules of prioritization of rights, communication to the requesting customer of detailed gross rights for one or more customers or closed customer groups. This particular embodiment requires the establishment of a communication protocol for the exchange of session description messages between the session data server and its clients.

In a particular mode of implementation, it is conceivable not to define a specific communication protocol. This is made possible by the knowledge, by the session data server, of the services rendered by the various clients of the platform. Thus, the session data server, determines, depending on the client who requests it, the information that it needs. Because of the tree structure of the session as previously defined, the session data server is able to transfer to a client only the information and the session data. concerning, while maintaining in operational condition the entirety of the session and this respecting the rights related to the customers.

Session Data Server Architecture

In connection with FIG. 4, a simplified architecture of a session data server according to the invention is presented. It comprises a memory 41, and a processing unit 40 equipped with a microprocessor, which is controlled by a computer program (or application) 42. The processing unit 40 receives as input, via an interface module. network input 43, requests for obtaining session data 44. This information is processed by the microprocessor, according to the instructions of the program 42, to: issue session descriptions 46a; transmit session data 46b;

This data is transmitted via a network output interface module 45 to the devices of the communication network which are responsible for it.

Claims

A method for managing at least one communication established between at least two communication devices, during a session during which, on the one hand, constitution information describing the session is transmitted, on the other hand , session data, characterized in that it comprises a step of selecting at least one of said constitution information in progress of said session.

2. Management method according to claim 1, characterized in that said selecting step takes into account at least one parameter of a required level of detail, said level of detail for determining said constitution information to be transmitted.

3. Management method according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said selection step takes into account at least one enabling parameter, said entitlement parameter defining access rights to said information of constitution.

4. Management method according to claim 3, characterized in that said enabling parameter is associated with at least one group of clients authorized to access said constitution information.

5. Management method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises: a step of transmitting a part of said constitution information; a step of transmitting a subset of said session data with which said portion of the constitution information transmitted is associated.

6. The management method as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said step of transmitting said data includes a division of the session data to be transmitted as a function of at least one data volume information to be transmitted contained within the constituent information. .

7. Management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the session data to be transmitted are extracted from said session.

8. Management method according to any one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that when said data volume information to be transmitted represents a volume less than a predetermined threshold, said steps of transmission of said constitution information and said data are confused in a single transmission step.

9. Device for managing at least one communication established between at least two communication devices, during a session in which are transmitted, on the one hand, information constituting the session and on the other hand session data, device characterized in that it comprises means for selecting at least one of said constitution information in progress of said session.

10. Computer program product downloadable from a communication network and / or stored on a computer readable medium and / or executable by a microprocessor, characterized in that it comprises program code instructions for the execution of the method management system according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, when executed on a computer.