Method and system for caching read requests from a shared image in a computer network

• US 20060090069A1
• Filed: 10/22/2004
• Published: 04/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: VenturCom, Inc.
• Inventors: Burokas, Gintautas, Davis, Ted, Achesinski, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US10/971,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20060090069A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4416 Network booting; Remote initial program loading [RIPL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1078 Resource delivery mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A shared image stored in a server is shared by a plurality of clients. The shared image includes data that may be downloaded over a computer network to each of the clients. To conserve network bandwidth when downloading the data, upon receiving a request from one of the clients to download the data, the server multicasts the data to all of the clients sharing the shared image.

Claims

1. A method of sharing images in a computer network comprising:

providing a shared image file on a server;

from clients, requesting data from the shared image file on the server; and

upon receiving a request for data from a client, multicasting from the server the data to all clients sharing the image file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is from an application program.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is from an operating system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data from a database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is from an image.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the multicasted data in each of the clients.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a subsequent request for the data from one of the clients retrieves the multicasted data stored in the client.

8. A computer comprising:

a persistent storage device storing a shared image file;

a routine stored in memory which upon receiving a request from a client over a computer network for data from the shared image file, multicasts the data over a computer network to all clients sharing the image file.

9. The computer of claim 8, wherein the data is from an application program.

10. The computer of claim 8, wherein the data is from an operating system.

11. The computer of claim 8, wherein the data is from a database.

12. The computer of claim 8, wherein the data is from an image.

13. A system comprising:

a client computer comprising;

memory for storing data from the shared image file, upon receiving a request for data from a client over a computer network; and

a server computer comprising,;

a persistent storage device storing a shared image file; and

memory storing a routine for multicasting data from the shared image, the routine multicasts the data over a computer network to all clients sharing the image file.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the data is from an application program.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the data is from an operating system.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the persistent storage in the server is a hard drive.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the multicasted data in stored in volatile memory in each of the clients.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein a subsequent request for the data from one of the clients retrieves the multicasted data stored in volatile memory in the client.

19. A system for sharing images in a computer network comprising:

means for providing a shared image file on a server;

means on clients for requesting data from the saved image file on the server; and

upon receiving a request for data from a client, means for multicasting from the server the data to all clients sharing the image file.