Long latency or error prone links

• US 20010023447A1
• Filed: 12/18/2000
• Published: 09/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ROKE Manor Research Limited (Chemring Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: ROKE Manor Research Limited (Chemring Group PLC)
• Inventors: Vickers, Steve, Hancock, Robert, West, Mark Alan
• Application Number:
  US09/738,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20010023447A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Described herein is a method for improving the performance of long latency or error prone links without reconfiguration. A host (10) is connected to an external network (20) by means of a satellite connection (30). A first router (40) and a first transparent cache (60) are associated with the host (10). Similarly, a second router (50) and a second transparent cache (70) are associated with the external network (20). When the host (10) sends a domain name server query, it is intercepted by the first router (40) and sent to the first transparent cache (60). If the first transparent cache (60) has the answer, it is passed back to the host (10) via the first router (40). If the first transparent cache (60) does not have the answer, the first router (40) passes the query to the second router (50) via the satellite (30) which passes it onto the second transparent cache (70) which supplies the answer if it has it. Otherwise, the router (50) passes the query to the external network (20). Once an answer has been found by the external network (20), it is passed back to the host (10) via the routers (40, 50) and the satellite (30) and is stored in the first transparent cache (60) for future use.

Claims

1. A method for improving the performance of long latency or error prone links between a host and an external network, the method comprising the steps of:

a) generating a domain name server query at the host;

b) intercepting the domain name server query;

c) passing the query to a transparent cache;

d) if the answer to the domain name server query is available in the cache, supplying the answer to the host as if from the requested domain name server;

e) if the answer is not available in the cache, routing the request to the requested domain name server;

f) receiving a response at the cache from the domain name server;

g) supplying the response to the host; and

h) storing the response in the transparent cache.

2. A method according to

claim 1

, wherein step f) further comprises the steps of:

(i) determining if the response received at the cache provides a complete answer;

(ii) generating a follow up query if the response is not a complete answer; and

(iii) repeating steps (i) and (ii) until a substantially complete answer is obtained.

4. A method according to any one of

claims 1

to

3

, further comprising the step of associating a router and transparent cache with the external network, the transparent caches operating as co-operative pairs.

3. A method according to claim I or 2, wherein steps b) and c) are carried out by a router associated with the host.

5. A method for improving the performance of long latency links between a host and an external network substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.