CN102457781B - Method and system for switching server provider by terminal, and terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a method for a terminal to switch service providers, and the embodiment of the invention also provides a corresponding terminal and system. In the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal obtains the server information of the operator through the switching management server, initiates a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information, and obtains the information from the management server of the first operator. The digital copyright protection information of the first operator, the digital copyright protection information is used to access the services of the first operator; the embodiment of the present invention enables users to use one terminal to connect to different service operators and access different service operators The IPTV service improves user experience and saves resources.

Description

Method for terminal switching service operator, terminal and system

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a method for a terminal to switch service operators, a terminal and a system.

Background technique

Broadband Interactive Television (IPTV, Internet Protocol Television) is a brand-new technology based on broadband, which integrates various technologies such as Internet, multimedia, and communication, and can provide users with various interactive services including digital television. For example, users can order their favorite TV programs, and can also pause or continue playing while watching. In addition, users can also give feedback and participate in interactions.

At present, the IPTV service is generally provided by a service provider (SP, Server Provider), and the user uses a terminal to connect to the service provider and access the IPTV service of the service provider. Usually, the terminal used by the user is a set-top box provided by the service operator.

At present, the process of connecting terminals to service operators is roughly as follows:

1. The service operator presets IPTV service digital rights protection (DRM, Digital Rights Management) information in the terminal or distributes it to the terminal in other secure ways. The DRM information can provide protection for IPTV services, such as preventing IPTV services provided by service operators from being played by illegal users. Usually different service operators have different DRM information.

2. The terminal uses the DRM information of the service operator, connects to the service server of the service operator, and accesses the IPTV service of the service operator.

When a user needs to access IPTV services of different service operators, the user can only obtain the DRM information of the corresponding service operator by replacing the terminal. Replacing the terminal not only brings a great cost burden to the user, but also causes waste of resources.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for switching a service operator by a terminal, a terminal and a system, which can connect to different service operators without changing the terminal.

A method for switching a service operator by a terminal, comprising: obtaining server information of an operator from a switching management server; initiating a connection to a management server of a first operator to be switched to according to the server information; The management server obtains the digital rights protection information of the first operator, and the digital rights protection information is used to access services of the first operator.

A terminal, comprising: an information acquisition unit, configured to acquire server information of an operator from a switching management server; a connection unit, configured to initiate a connection to a management server of a first operator to be switched to according to the server information; copyright acquisition A unit, configured to acquire digital rights protection information of the first operator from a management server of the first operator, where the digital rights protection information is used to access services of the first operator.

A system for switching a service operator by a terminal, comprising: a switch management server, configured to provide the terminal with server information of the operator; a management server of the first operator, configured to provide the terminal with digital copyright protection information of the first operator; The terminal is configured to obtain server information of an operator from the switching management server, initiate a connection to a management server of a first operator to be switched to according to the server information, and obtain the information from the management server of the first operator. Digital rights protection information of the first operator, where the digital rights protection information is used to access services of the first operator.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal obtains the server information of the SP by switching the management server, and initiates a connection to the management server of the first operator SP1 that needs to be switched to according to the server information to obtain the DRM information of the SP1, and the terminal can use the DRM information of the SP1. The DRM information accesses the service of SP1 to realize switching to SP1. In the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal can obtain the server information of different SPs by switching the management server and thereby obtain the DRM information of different SPs, so that the user can use one terminal to connect to different SPs and access the IPTV services of different SPs, which improves the user experience , and save resources.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for switching a service operator by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for switching a service operator by a terminal according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for switching a service operator by a terminal according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a fifth terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a system for switching a service operator by a terminal six according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for a terminal to switch service operators, and the embodiment of the present invention also provides a corresponding terminal and system. Each will be described in detail below.

Embodiment 1, please refer to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a method for a terminal to switch a service operator in an embodiment of the present invention includes:

101. Obtain server information of an operator from a handover management server.

When a user uses a terminal to obtain services from an SP, the SP may need to be replaced. For example, when the user finds that the SP that currently provides services cannot be connected normally (for example, the operator service information or DRM information of the terminal is damaged, for the sake of brevity, this article refers to the SP that currently provides services as the second operator SP2), or when When a user wants to switch from SP2 to another operator (for simplicity, the SP that the user wants to switch to is referred to as the first operator SP1 in this paper) in order to access different IPTV services, the user will operate the terminal to select the operator, and the terminal Switching is performed according to the user's selection. For example, when the terminal is a set-top box, the user can select the operator through the remote control of the set-top box or the switch button on the set-top box; when the terminal is a mobile phone, the operator can be selected through the keyboard of the mobile phone itself or the virtual keyboard on the touch screen.

In this embodiment, the terminal obtains the server information of the SP by connecting to the switching management server, and the address information of the switching management server can be preset on the terminal, or the terminal can also connect to the management server of the second operator SP2 currently providing services, Obtain the address information of the switching management server of the third party.

It should be noted that the terminal can either connect to the switching management server to obtain the server information of the SP in real time after the user chooses to switch to the first operator SP1, or can connect to the switching management server periodically or as needed to update the stored SP server information for use when switching is required, for example:

(1) The terminal can regularly connect to the switching management server to obtain the server information of each SP; or the terminal can connect to the switching management server to obtain the server information of each SP every time it is turned on.

(2) After the user chooses to switch to SP1, the terminal can connect to the switching management server to obtain the server information of each SP. Of course, since the terminal has determined that it needs to switch to SP1, it can also obtain only the server of SP1 from the switching management server information.

The server information of the SP provided by the switching management server may specifically be the address information of the management server of each SP. The management server is a server or a collection of servers capable of providing DRM information to terminals. For example, the management server may include an auto-configuration server (ACS, Auto-configuration Server) that provides management and configuration functions for the terminal.

The SP usually provides an automatic configuration server, which is responsible for the automatic management of the terminal, and can realize the reading and setting modification of various parameters in the terminal. Therefore, the terminal can obtain the DRM information of the SP through the automatic configuration server of the SP.

Of course, the management server may also include a registration server that provides an online registration function for the terminal. The terminal can register online to open an account and obtain the DRM information of the SP from the management server.

Different specific functions provided by the management server can be implemented by different server entities, for example, the registration server and the ACS can be two independent server entities, and the management server includes these two server entities, or these different specific functions can also be in implemented on the same server entity.

In this embodiment, the management server can provide the function of the ACS. Therefore, the server information of each SP obtained by the terminal from the switching management server may be the address information of the ACS of each SP.

102. Initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the obtained server information.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user has opened an account with the first operator SP1 to be switched to, for example, the user completes the account opening process by going to the business hall of SP1 or logging into the website of SP1. In this case, the terminal can initiate a connection to the management server of SP1 according to the obtained server information. For example, if the terminal obtains the address information of the management server of each SP, then select the address of the management server of SP1 according to the user's choice and connect to it; if the terminal only obtains the address of the management server of SP1, then directly follow the The address only needs to initiate a connection with the management server of SP1, and the management server of SP1 performs the function of ACS and provides DRM information of SP1 to the terminal.

103. Acquire digital rights protection information of the first operator from a management server of the first operator, where the digital rights protection information is used to access services of the first operator.

After the terminal is connected to the management server of SP1 (providing the function of ACS), the management server of SP1 can configure the DRM information of SP1 to the terminal. For example, the management server of SP1 can update the original DRM information of the terminal to the DRM information of SP1. The DRM information of SP1 can also be added on the terminal. The specific acquisition process can be realized through the remote device management protocol.

After obtaining the DRM information of SP1, the terminal can connect to SP1 by using the DRM information, so as to access services of SP1, such as IPTV services.

In this embodiment, the terminal obtains the server information of the SP by switching the management server. The so-called server information includes the address information of the management server of the SP. The user opens an account in SP1 in advance, and connects to the management server of SP1 to obtain SP1 when switching to SP1. The obtained DRM information of SP1 can be used to access the service of SP1 and switch to SP1. This embodiment enables one terminal to obtain DRM information of different SPs, so that a user can use one terminal to connect to different SPs and access IPTV services of different SPs, which improves user experience and saves resources.

Embodiment 2, please refer to FIG. 2 , the embodiment of the present invention also provides another embodiment of the method for terminal switching service operator. Compared with Embodiment 1, the user can register in real time in this embodiment, and the specific steps include:

201. Obtain server information of an operator from a handover management server.

This step can be performed with reference to step 101. In this embodiment, the management server of the SP can not only provide the function of the ACS, but also provide the function of the registration server. As mentioned above, these two different functions can be implemented on different server entities or in on the same server entity.

202. Initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the obtained server information.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user has not opened an account with the first operator SP1 to be switched to, so after the terminal is connected to the management server of SP1, the following registration process needs to be performed first.

203. Complete registration with the first operator.

The registration service may be implemented by the part of the SP1 management server that provides the registration function, or by an independent server entity that provides the registration function in the SP1 management server.

The registration process is included in the SP1 account opening process. The specific registration process may include providing the registration server with information that can prove identity or be used for payment. For example, when the user connects to the management server of SP1, the management server pushes the registration page to the user, prompting the user to enter the user name, mobile phone number, or A valid bank card for payment; after the management server of SP1 authenticates these information, the user's account opening can be completed.

After registration, in order to ensure the safe transmission of the DRM information of SP1, the step of obtaining the digital certificate by the terminal from the management server of SP1 can be further added in this embodiment, namely:

204. Receive the digital certificate sent by the management server of the first operator, where the digital certificate is used for secure transmission of the digital copyright protection information of the first operator.

The above step 204 is used to further provide secure transmission of DRM information, which is an optional step. After the terminal completes the registration, the digital certificate is sent to the terminal by the part of the SP1 management server that provides the registration function, or by an independent server entity that provides the registration function in the SP1 management server. Using this digital certificate, the terminal can obtain the DRM information of SP1 from the part of the management server of SP1 that provides the ACS function, or an independent server entity that provides the ACS function in the management server of SP1.

For example, when the management server includes two server entities, the registration server and the ACS, the terminal can use the digital certificate obtained from the registration server to perform mutual authentication with the ACS server, and obtain DRM information from the ACS server after the authentication is passed.

Due to the use of the digital certificate, it is possible to avoid providing the DRM information of the SP1 to an unauthorized terminal, thereby ensuring the safe transmission of the DRM information.

205. Acquire digital rights protection information of the first operator from a management server of the first operator, where the digital rights protection information is used to access services of the first operator.

In this embodiment, the terminal obtains the server information of the SP by switching the management server. The so-called server information includes the address information of the management server of the SP. The terminal connects to the management server of SP1 to register, and then obtains the DRM information of SP1 to access the service of SP1. , to achieve the switch to SP1. In this embodiment, the user does not need to go to each SP to open an account in advance, and the terminal can complete the account opening and registration in the process of switching when the service of a certain SP is needed, which is more convenient for the user.

In the foregoing embodiments, the terminal respectively establishes connections with the switching management server and the management server of SP1, so as to finally obtain the DRM information of SP1. Since the DRM information is used to enable the SP to protect its own IPTV service, in order to prevent the illegal dissemination of the DRM information, an asymmetric key system can be further used in the communication between the terminal and the switching management server and the management server of SP1, that is, digital security Certificate system to ensure the safe transmission of DRM information. This case will be described in detail below.

Embodiment 3, please refer to FIG. 3, the embodiment of the present invention also provides another embodiment of the method for the terminal to switch service operators, including:

301. Perform authentication with the switching management server;

When the terminal needs to connect to the switching management server to obtain the server information of the SP, the terminal can use the digital certificate of the second operator SP2 currently providing services to authenticate the switching management server, or perform mutual authentication with the switching management server. After passing the authentication, execute Follow up with the step of obtaining the server information of the SP from the switching management server.

302. Acquire server information of the SP from the handover management server.

After the terminal passes the authentication of the switching management server, the terminal can obtain the server information of the SP from the switching management server, such as the address of the management server of the SP.

The above-mentioned authentication process related to switching the management server is applicable to the situations in the first and second embodiments. For example, the above-mentioned authentication process is added in Embodiment 1. After the terminal passes the above-mentioned authentication, it can obtain the server information of the SP and connect to it to obtain the DRM information of SP1, thereby ensuring that the terminal obtains the DRM information of SP1 under the mechanism of secure transmission; For another example, the above-mentioned authentication process is added in Embodiment 2. After the terminal passes the above-mentioned authentication, it can obtain the server information of the SP and connect to it for registration, and obtain the DRM information of SP1 after registration, thereby ensuring the mechanism of safe transmission of the terminal Get the DRM information of SP1 under. Of course, in the second embodiment, the terminal can further ensure the safe transmission of the DRM information through the digital certificate obtained in the registration process, and for the situation in the first embodiment, before obtaining the DRM information of SP1, further increase the terminal and SP1 The authentication process between management servers is described in detail as follows:

303. Initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the obtained server information.

This step can be performed with reference to step 102 .

304. Mutual authentication with the handover management server by using the second digital certificate of the second operator that currently provides services.

In this embodiment, the handover management server can authenticate the digital certificate of each SP. Therefore, the terminal can use the digital certificate of SP2 currently providing services to perform authentication with the handover management server. Of course, such a security mechanism can also be adopted, that is, the switching management server and all SPs use the same digital certificate.

305. After passing the authentication, obtain the first digital certificate from the handover management server.

306. Perform mutual authentication with the management server of the first operator by using the first digital certificate.

At this time, the management server of SP1 is used to provide the ACS function, and the DRM information of SP1 can be provided to the terminal after the mutual authentication is passed.

307. After passing the authentication, acquire the digital rights protection information of the first operator from the management server of the first operator.

In this embodiment, not only the handover management server can authenticate the digital certificate of each SP, but also the management server of each SP can authenticate the digital certificate of the handover management server.

In this embodiment, the security of DRM information provision is further ensured by setting the authentication process before the terminal obtains the server information of SP from the switching management server, and/or before the terminal obtains the DRM information of SP1 from the management server of SP1.

The terminal in the embodiment of the present invention is described below.

Embodiment 4, please refer to FIG. 4, an embodiment of the terminal in the present invention includes:

An information acquiring unit 401, configured to acquire server information of an operator from a handover management server;

The connecting unit 402 is configured to initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information obtained by the information obtaining unit 401;

The copyright acquiring unit 403 is configured to acquire digital copyright protection information of the first operator from a management server of the first operator, and the digital copyright protection information is used for accessing services of the first operator.

The above-mentioned terminal can be used in the method of the first embodiment. The server information obtained by the information obtaining unit 401 may specifically include the address information of the management server of the operator; at this time, the connection unit 402 is specifically used to switch to the address of the management server of the first operator according to the need obtained from the switching management server information, and initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator.

In this embodiment, the information acquisition unit 401 may further adopt the following structure, including:

The address information obtaining subunit 4011 is used to connect to the management server of the second operator currently providing services, and obtain the address information of the switching management server,

The server information obtaining subunit 4012 is configured to obtain the operator's server information from the switching management server according to the address information of the switching management server obtained by the address information obtaining subunit 4011 .

In order to ensure that the operator's server information will not be obtained illegally at will, the information acquisition unit 401 in this embodiment may further include an authentication subunit 4013, which is used to use the digital certificate of the second operator currently providing services to authenticate the switching management The server, or performs mutual authentication with the handover management server, and after the authentication is passed, the server information acquisition subunit 4012 performs the operation of acquiring the operator's server information from the handover management server.

Further, in order to ensure that the DRM information of SP1 is safely transmitted to the terminal, the copyright acquisition unit 403 in this embodiment may specifically include the following logical structure:

The first authentication subunit 4031 is configured to use the second digital certificate of the second operator currently providing services to mutually authenticate with the handover management server, and obtain the first digital certificate from the handover management server after passing the authentication;

The second authentication subunit 4032 is configured to use the first digital certificate to perform mutual authentication with the management server of the first operator;

The obtaining subunit 4033 is configured to obtain the digital rights protection information of the first operator after the second authentication subunit 4032 passes the authentication.

Embodiment 5. Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the terminal in the present invention includes:

An information acquiring unit 501, configured to acquire server information of an operator from a handover management server;

The connecting unit 502 is configured to initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information obtained by the information obtaining unit 501;

A registration unit 503, configured to complete registration with the first operator after the connection unit 501 initiates a connection to the management server of the first operator;

The copyright obtaining unit 504 is configured to obtain the digital copyright protection information of the first operator from the management server of the first operator after the registration by the registration unit 503 is completed, and the digital copyright protection information is used to access services of the first operator.

In order to further ensure the transmission security of the digital copyright protection information of the first operator, the copyright acquisition unit 504 can further be used to receive the digital certificate sent by the management server of the first operator after the registration unit 503 completes the registration, the digital certificate Secure transmission of digital rights protection information for the first operator.

The terminal in this embodiment can be used in the method in the second embodiment.

The system in the embodiment of the present invention is described below.

Embodiment 6, please refer to FIG. 6, an embodiment of the system for the terminal switching service operator in the present invention includes:

The handover management server 601 is configured to provide the terminal 603 with server information of the operator;

The management server 602 of the first operator is configured to provide the terminal 603 with the digital rights protection information of the first operator;

The terminal 603 is used to obtain the server information of the operator from the switching management server 601; initiate a connection to the management server 602 of the first operator to be switched to according to the obtained server information; obtain the first operator from the management server 602 of the first operator. The digital rights protection information of the operator, the digital rights protection information is used to access the services of the first operator.

It should be noted that the terminals involved in the above embodiments of the invention include, but are not limited to, set-top boxes, TVs with IPTV service reception functions, and mobile devices with IPTV service reception functions, such as mobile phones, smart mobile terminals, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). wait.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the various methods of the above-mentioned embodiments can be completed by instructing related hardware through a program, and the program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the storage medium can include: ROM, RAM, disk or CD, etc.

The method for switching a service provider by a terminal provided by the embodiment of the present invention as well as the terminal and the system have been introduced in detail above. In this paper, specific examples are used to illustrate the principle and implementation of the present invention. The description of the above embodiment is only for To help understand the method of the present invention and its core idea; at the same time, for those of ordinary skill in the art, according to the idea of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation and scope of application. In summary, the content of this specification It should not be construed as a limitation of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. A method for a terminal to switch service operators, comprising: Obtaining the operator's server information from the handover management server; Initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information; Obtaining digital rights protection information of the first operator from a management server of the first operator, where the digital rights protection information is used to access services of the first operator; It is characterized in that the obtaining the digital rights protection information of the first operator from the management server of the first operator includes: using a second digital certificate of a second operator currently providing services to mutually authenticate with the handover management server; After passing the authentication, obtain the first digital certificate from the switching management server; performing mutual authentication with a management server of the first operator using the first digital certificate; After passing the authentication, acquire the digital rights protection information of the first operator. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the server information includes the address information of the management server of the operator, and the connection is initiated to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information The steps include: Initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator according to the address information of the management server of the first operator to be switched to obtained from the switching management server. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, after the connection is initiated to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information, after the first operator Before the operator's management server acquires the digital rights protection information of the first operator, it also includes: Registration with said first carrier is completed. 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: after the completion of the registration with the first operator: receiving the digital certificate sent by the management server of the first operator, where the digital certificate is used for secure transmission of the digital copyright protection information of the first operator. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising: before obtaining the operator's server information from the handover management server: Connect to the management server of the second operator currently providing services, and obtain the address information of the switching management server. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising: before obtaining the server information of the operator from the handover management server: using the digital certificate of the second operator currently providing services to authenticate the handover management server, or perform mutual authentication with the handover management server; After the authentication is passed, the step of obtaining the operator's server information from the handover management server is performed. 7. A terminal, comprising: an information acquisition unit, configured to acquire operator server information from the handover management server; A connection unit, configured to initiate a connection to the management server of the first operator to be switched to according to the server information; a copyright acquisition unit, configured to acquire digital copyright protection information of the first operator from a management server of the first operator, and the digital copyright protection information is used to access services of the first operator; It is characterized in that the copyright acquisition unit includes: The first authentication subunit is configured to use the second digital certificate of the second operator currently providing services to mutually authenticate with the handover management server, and obtain the first digital certificate from the handover management server after passing the authentication; The second authentication subunit is configured to use the first digital certificate to perform mutual authentication with the management server of the first operator; The obtaining subunit is configured to obtain the digital rights protection information of the first operator after the second authentication subunit passes the authentication. 8. The terminal according to claim 7, further comprising: a registration unit, configured to complete registration with the first operator after the connection unit initiates a connection to the management server of the first operator; The copyright acquiring unit acquires the digital copyright protection information of the first operator from the management server of the first operator after the registration unit completes the registration. 9. The terminal according to claim 8, characterized in that: The copyright acquisition unit is further configured to, after the registration unit completes the registration, receive a digital certificate sent by the management server of the first operator, the digital certificate is used for the digital copyright of the first operator Protect the secure transmission of information. 10. The terminal according to any one of claims 7-9, wherein the information acquiring unit comprises: The address information acquisition subunit is configured to connect to the management server of the second operator currently providing services, and acquire the address information of the switching management server; The authentication subunit is configured to use the digital certificate of the second operator currently providing services to authenticate the handover management server, or perform mutual authentication with the handover management server; The server information acquisition subunit is configured to obtain the operator's server information from the handover management server according to the address information of the handover management server acquired by the address information acquisition subunit after the authentication by the authentication subunit is passed. .

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