Methods and Apparatus for Creation, Advertisement, and Discovery of Peer-to ...

1. A method for operating a node to discover a peer-to-peer overlay network, the method comprising:

detecting one or more communication links that allow the node to communicate with other nodes;

determining that a universal overlay network is accessible using at least one communication link;

selecting a selected communication link from the at least one communication link; and

joining the universal overlay network using the selected communication link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining comprises determining whether the universal overlay network is accessible based on information identifying overlay networks associated with each link.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said determining whether the universal overlay network is accessible comprises retrieving the information from an overlay database.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating an advertisement that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (UNL).

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising publishing the advertisement on the universal overlay network.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining an advertisement from the universal overlay network that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (URL).

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising communicating with the selected overlay network utilizing the UNL.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the universal overlay network is one of a connected or disconnected universal overlay network.

11. An apparatus for discovering peer-to-peer overlay networks, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver configured to detect one or more communication links that allow the node to communicate with other nodes; and

a processor configured to:

determine that a universal overlay network is accessible using at least one communication link;

select a selected communication link from the at least one communication link; and

join the universal overlay network using the selected communication link.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said processor is configured to determine whether the universal overlay network is accessible based on information identifying overlay networks associated with each link.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said processor is configured to retrieve the information from an overlay database.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said processor is configured to generate an advertisement that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (UNL).

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said processor is configured to publish the advertisement on the universal overlay network.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said processor is configured to obtain an advertisement from the universal overlay network that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (URL).

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said processor is configured to communicate with the selected overlay network utilizing the UNL.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the universal overlay network is one of a connected or disconnected universal overlay network.

21. An apparatus for discovering peer-to-peer overlay networks, the apparatus comprising:

means for detecting one or more communication links that allow the node to communicate with other nodes;

means for determining that a universal overlay network is accessible using at least one communication link;

means for selecting a selected communication link from the at least one communication link; and

means for joining the universal overlay network using the selected communication link.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said means for determining comprises means for determining whether the universal overlay network is accessible based on information identifying overlay networks associated with each link.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said means for determining whether the universal overlay network is accessible comprises means for retrieving the information from an overlay database.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising means for generating an advertisement that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (UNL).

26. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising means for publishing the advertisement on the universal overlay network.

27. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising means for obtaining an advertisement from the universal overlay network that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (URL).

29. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising means for communicating with the selected overlay network utilizing the UNL.

30. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the universal overlay network is one of a connected or disconnected universal overlay network.

31. A computer program product for discovering peer-to-peer overlay networks, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable medium embodying codes executable by a processor to:

detect one or more communication links that allow the node to communicate with other nodes;

determine that a universal overlay network is accessible using at least one communication link;

select a selected communication link from the at least one communication link; and

join the universal overlay network using the selected communication link.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein said codes are configured to cause the processor to determine whether the universal overlay network is accessible based on information identifying overlay networks associated with each link.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein said codes are configured to cause the processor to retrieve the information from an overlay database.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein said codes are configured to cause the processor to generate an advertisement that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (UNL).

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein said codes are configured to cause the processor to publish the advertisement on the universal overlay network.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein said codes are configured to cause the processor to obtain an advertisement from the universal overlay network that provides an identifier that identifies a node on the universal overlay that is used as a bootstrap node for reaching a selected overlay network.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the identifier is a universal node locator (URL).

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein said codes are configured to cause the processor to communicate with the selected overlay network utilizing the UNL.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the universal overlay network is one of a connected or disconnected universal overlay network.