IMPLEMENTING NETWORK SERVICES OVER THE INTERNET THROUGH DYNAMIC RESOLUTION OF PERSONAL HOST NAMES
First Claim
1. A method of processing a communication received over a computer network, the method comprising the steps of:
- storing for a given user of the network a mapping between a host name and an address of a user-designated host server for hosting a particular network service provided to that user, wherein the user is one of a plurality of users associated with an organization, and the host name specifies the user and the particular network service; and
directing an incoming communication of the network service addressed to the user to the host server specified in the mapping.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An e-mail message or other communication received over a computer network is processed so as to be directed to a user-designated host server. An Internet service provider or other organization assigns host names to a particular user for each network service provided to that user. Each of the host names specifies a user, a service, e.g., e-mail, homepage and network telephony, and a domain name of the assigning organization. A mapping stored for each host name correlates the host name with an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user-designated host server for the corresponding service. When an address request for an incoming communication directed to a particular user arrives in a Domain Name System (DNS) server associated with the organization domain, the stored mapping for the corresponding user and service is processed to obtain the appropriate IP address. This address is returned to the requesting DNS server associated with a domain of the sender, and is used to establish a connection between the sender domain and the user-designated host server for delivering the communication. The user-designated host server may be a personal computer associated with the user.
39 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of processing a communication received over a computer network, the method comprising the steps of:
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storing for a given user of the network a mapping between a host name and an address of a user-designated host server for hosting a particular network service provided to that user, wherein the user is one of a plurality of users associated with an organization, and the host name specifies the user and the particular network service; and
directing an incoming communication of the network service addressed to the user to the host server specified in the mapping. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for processing a communication received over a computer network, the apparatus comprising:
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a memory for storing for a given user of the network a mapping between a host name and an address of a user-designated host server for hosting a particular network service provided to that user, wherein the user is one of a plurality of users associated with an organization, and the host name specifies the user and the particular network service; and
at least one additional server operative to determine, upon receipt of an incoming communication of the network service addressed to the user, an address of the host server specified in the mapping. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for processing a communication received over a computer network, the apparatus comprising:
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means for storing for a given user of the network a mapping between a host name and an address of a user-designated host server for hosting a particular network service provided to that user, wherein the user is one of a plurality of users associated with an organization, and the host name specifies the user and the particular network service; and
means for directing an incoming communication of the network service addressed to the user to the host server specified in the mapping.
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Specification