Method and apparatus for appliance host supported network-based application delivery

• US 20060259581A1
• Filed: 07/18/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kurt W. Piersol
• Original Assignee: Kurt W. Piersol
• Inventors: Piersol, Kurt W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,788,388 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A method and apparatus for appliance host supported network-based application delivery is described. In one embodiment, a local client device requests access to a network-based application for use with data stored locally by the client. In one embodiment, an appliance host retrieves the network-based application from a remote server based upon the client request and negotiated access terms. In one embodiment, the appliance host operates much like a cache in that rather than automatically retrieving the client-requested network-based application from a remote server, the appliance host first determines if a local copy of the application is stored on the appliance host. If the network-based application is stored on the appliance host, whether pre-installed by the vendor or remaining from a previous client request, then the appliance host executes the locally stored version of the application rather than retrieving a copy from the remote server. Since the network-based application is executed locally (with respect to the client) rather than at the remote server location, any communication interruptions that may occur outside the local network will not affect execution of the network-based application.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a web-based interface to a client;

receiving a request from the client to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

determining if the client is authorized for execution of the network-based application;

enabling client access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if the client is determined to have authorization; and

executing the network-based application using client data.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the request is generated automatically by software executing on the client.

3. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising executing a web browser in anticipation that a link to a document may be selected by the client.

4. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising executing a web browser in anticipation that a link to a spreadsheet may be selected by the client.

5. An article of manufacture having one or more computer readable storage media storing instructions which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:

providing a web-based interface to a client;

receiving a request from the client to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

determining if the client is authorized for execution of the network-based application;

enabling client access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if the client is determined to have authorization; and

executing the network-based application using client data.

6. The article of manufacture defined in claim 5 wherein the request is generated automatically by software executing on the client.

7. The article of manufacture defined in claim 5 wherein the method further comprises executing a web browser in anticipation that a link to a document may be selected by the client.

8. The article of manufacture defined in claim 5 wherein the method further comprises executing a web browser in anticipation that a link to a spreadsheet may be selected by the client.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a web-based interface from a server;

sending a request to the server to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

receiving access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if determined to have authorization and to enable execution of the network-based application using client data.

10. The method defined in claim 9 wherein the request is generated automatically by software executing on the client.

11. The method defined in claim 9 further comprising executing a web browser in anticipation that a link to a document may be selected by the client.

12. The method defined in claim 9 further comprising executing a web browser in anticipation that a link to a spreadsheet may be selected by the client.

13. An article of manufacture having one or more computer readable storage media storing instructions which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:

receiving a web-based interface from a server;

sending a request to the server to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

receiving access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if determined to have authorization; and

,

executing the network-based application using client data.

14. A method comprising:

receiving a request from the client to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

determining if the client is authorized for execution of the network-based application;

determining whether a local copy of the network-based application exists;

automatically downloading the network-based application from a remote server if the local copy of the network-based application does not exist, including receiving one or more modules of the network-based application from a remote application server over an external network;

enabling client access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if the client is determined to have authorization; and

executing the network-based application using client data.

15. The method defined in claim 14 further comprising providing a web-based interface to a client.

16. An article of manufacture having one or more computer readable storage media storing instructions which, when executed by a system, cause the system to perform a method comprising:

receiving a request from the client to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

determining if the client is authorized for execution of the network-based application;

determining whether a local copy of the network-based application exists;

automatically downloading the network-based application from a remote server if the local copy of the network-based application does not exist, including receiving one or more modules of the network-based application from a remote application server over an external network;

enabling client access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if the client is determined to have authorization; and

executing the network-based application using client data.

17. The article of manufacture defined in claim 16 wherein the method further comprises providing a web-based interface to a client.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface to provide a web-based interface to a client and receive a request from the client to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client;

a processor to run a program to determine if the client is authorized for execution of the network-based application, to enable client access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if the client is determined to have authorization, and to execute the network-based application using client data.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface to receive a web-based interface from a server and to send a request to the server to execute a network-based application with data stored local to the client; and

a processor to process receipt of an indication of access to the network-based application according to one or more access terms if determined to have authorization and to enable execution of the network-based application using client data.

20. A method comprising:

providing a web-based interface to a client;

receiving a request from the client to execute a network-based application with client data;

determining if the client is authorized for execution of the network-based application;

executing the network-based application using client data according to one or more access terms if the client is determined to have authorization.

21. The method defined in claim 20 wherein the network-based application is a spreadsheet application.