Systems and Methods for Accelerating Delivery of a Computing Environment to a Remote User

• US 20070244987A1
• Filed: 04/11/2007
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Sinha, Rajiv, Sundarrajan, Prabakar, Pedersen, Bradley, Treder, Terry
• Granted Patent: US 8,886,822 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• 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 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/10 Streamlined, light-weight or high-speed protocols, e.g. express transfer protocol [XTP] or byte stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards the acceleration of delivery of a computing environment to a remote user of a client at a remote location. The computing environment may include an application and a data file used or processed by the application. The application and data file may be stored or provided via a server remote to the client. The user can request a computing environment from the server that provides for execution of the application by the user via the remote computer. For example, the server may stream the application to the remote client. The client and server may communicate via an appliance that accelerates communications between the client and server. For example, the appliance may accelerate the streaming of the application to the remote user. In some cases, the application or remote user may also request a data file from the server, and the appliance accelerates the delivery of the data file to the remote user. As such, users at remote locations obtain accelerated access via any network connected device to applications and data files located remotely to the user.

Claims

1. A method for accelerating delivery of a computing environment to a remote client, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, by the server, a request from a remote client to execute an application, the remote client and server communicating via an appliance;

(b) streaming, by the server, to the remote client an application for execution;

(c) transmitting, by the server, a data file requested by the remote client for access by the streamed application; and

(d) accelerating, by the appliance, transmission of the data file to the remote client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data file is of a format usable by the application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is associated with a file type of the data file.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising accelerating, by the appliance, streaming of the application to the remote client.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising accelerating, by the appliance, one of the transmission of the data file or the streaming of the application by performing one of the following acceleration techniques:

compression;

Transmission Control Protocol multiplexing;

Transmission Control Protocol buffering; and

caching.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising accelerating, by an acceleration program on the remote client, communications between the remote client and the server.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising establishing, by the appliance, one of a virtual private network connection or Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection with the remote client.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting, by the appliance, an acceleration program to the remote client upon a request from the client to establish one of a connection or a session with the server.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising automatically installing and executing, by the remote client, the acceleration program upon receipt from the appliance.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising executing, by the remote client, the acceleration program transparently to one of the application or the server.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising determining, by the appliance, the application is capable of being accelerated, and transmitting, by the appliance, in response to the determination an acceleration program to the remote client.

12. The method of claim 1, comprising performing, by an acceleration program on the remoter client, one of the following acceleration techniques:

compression;

Transmission Control Protocol multiplexing;

Transmission Control Protocol buffering; and

caching.

13. The method of claim 1, comprising caching, by the appliance, the data file.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising intercepting, by the appliance, a request from the remote client for the data file and transmitting the cached data file to the remote client in response to the request.

15. The method of claim 1, comprising compressing, by the appliance, the data file received from the server, and transmitting the compressed data file to the remote client.

16. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving, by the appliance, from the server one of the streamed application or the data file via a pooled transport layer connection used by a plurality of clients.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising multiplexing, by the appliance, network packets of the transmission of one of the streamed application or the data file via the pooled transport layer connection.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote client is located on a first network and one of the server or the appliance is located on a second network.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote client is located at a branch office and one of the server or the appliance is located at a data center.

20. A system for accelerating delivery of a computing environment to a remote client, the system comprising:

an appliance for accelerating communications between one or more clients and one or more servers;

a server receiving a request from a remote client to execute an application, the server streaming to the remote client via the appliance an application for execution in response to the request;

wherein the server transmits a data file requested by the remote client for access by the streamed application; and

the appliance accelerates transmission of the data file to the remote client.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the data file is of a format usable by the application.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the application is associated with a file type of the data file.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the appliance accelerates streaming of the application to the remote client.

24. The system of claim 20, comprising an acceleration program on the remote client accelerating communications between the remote client and the server.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the appliance establishes one of a virtual private network connection or Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection with the remote client.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the appliance transmits an acceleration program to the remote client upon a request from the client to establish one of a connection or a session with the server.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the remote client automatically installs and executes the acceleration program upon receipt from the appliance.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the acceleration program on the remoter client performs one of the following acceleration techniques:

compression;

decompression;

Transmission Control Protocol multiplexing;

Transmission Control Protocol buffering; and

caching.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the remote client executes the acceleration program transparently to one of the application or the server.

30. The system of claim 20, wherein the appliance determines the application is capable of being accelerated, and transmits, in response to the determination, an acceleration program to the remote client.

31. The system of claim 20, wherein the appliance accelerates one of the transmission of the data file or the streaming of the application by performing one of the following acceleration techniques:

compression;

Transmission Control Protocol multiplexing;

Transmission Control Protocol buffering; and

caching.

32. The system of claim 20, wherein the appliance comprises a cache for caching the data file.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the appliance intercepts the request for the data file and transmits to the remote client the cached data file in response to the request.

34. The system of claim 23, wherein the appliance compressed the data file received from the server, and transmits the compressed data file to the remote client.

35. The system of claim 23, wherein the appliance receives from the server one of the streamed application or the data file via a pooled transport layer connection used by a plurality of clients.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein the appliance multiplexes network packets of the transmission of one of the streamed application or the data file via the pooled transport layer connection.

37. The system of claim 23, wherein the remote client is located on a first network and one of the server or the appliance is located on a second network.

38. The system of claim 23, wherein the remote client is located at a branch office and one of the server or the appliance is located at a data center.

39. A method for accelerating delivery of a computing environment to a remote client via a client agent and an appliance, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) streaming, via an appliance, to a client agent an application for execution requested by a remote client;

(b) transmitting, via the appliance, a data file requested by the remote client, the data file accessed by the streamed application; and

(c) accelerating, by one of the client agent or the appliance, delivery of the data file to the remote client.

40. The method of claim 39, comprising accelerating, by one of the client agent or the appliance, delivery of the streamed application to the remote client.

41. The method of claim 39, comprising accelerating, by the one of the client agent or appliance, delivery of one of the data file or the streamed application by performing one of the following acceleration techniques:

compression;

Transmission Control Protocol multiplexing;

Transmission Control Protocol buffering; and

caching.

42. The method of claim 39, comprising establishing, via the client agent and the appliance, one of a virtual private network connection or Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection for the remote client.

43. The method of claim 39, comprising caching, by the one of the client agent or the appliance, the data file.

44. The method of claim 39, comprising intercepting, by one of the client agent or the appliance, a request from the remote client for the data file and providing the cached data file in response to the request.

45. The method of claim 39, comprising compressing, by the appliance, the data file received from a server, and transmitting the compressed data file to the client agent.

46. The method of claim 45, comprising decompressing, by the client agent, the compressed data file received from the appliance, and providing the data file to the streamed application executing on the remote client.

47. The method of claim 39, comprising receiving, by the client agent, from the appliance one of the streamed application or the data file via a pooled transport layer connection between the appliance and a server

48. The method of claim 47, comprising multiplexing, by the appliance, network packets of transmission of one of the streamed application or the data file to the client agent via the pooled transport layer connection.

49. The method of claim 39, comprising transmitting one of the streamed application or the data file between a first transport layer connection established between the client agent and the appliance and a second transport layer connection established between the appliance and a server.

50. A method for accelerating delivery of a computing environment to a remote client via a client agent, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, by a client agent, a streamed application requested for execution from a server, the remote client communicating with the server via the client agent;

(b) requesting, by the client agent, from the server a data file accessed by the streamed application; and

(c) accelerating, by the client agent, delivery of the data file to the streamed application of the remote client.

51. The method of claim 50, comprising accelerating, by the client agent, delivery of the streamed application to the remote client.

52. The method of claim 50, comprising accelerating, by the client agent, delivery of one of the data file or the streamed application by performing one of the following acceleration techniques:

compression;

Transmission Control Protocol multiplexing;

Transmission Control Protocol buffering; and

caching.

53. The method of claim 50, comprising establishing, via the client agent, one of a virtual private network connection or Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection for the remote client to the server.

54. The method of claim 50, comprising caching, by the client agent, a portion of the data file or the streamed application.

55. The method of claim 54, comprising intercepting, by the client agent, a request of the remote client for the data file and providing the portion of cached data file in response to the request.

56. The method of claim 54, comprising intercepting, by the client agent, a request of a user for the streamed application and providing the portion of the streamed application in response to the request.

57. The method of claim 50, comprising decompressing, by the client agent, a compressed data file received from one of an appliance or the server, and providing the data file to the streamed application executing on the remote client.

58. The method of claim 50, comprising receiving, by the client agent, one of the streamed application or the data file via a pooled transport layer connection.

59. The method of claim 58, comprising demultiplexing, by the client agent, network packets received for one of the streamed application or the data file via the pooled transport layer connection.

60. The method of claim 50, comprising receiving one of the streamed application or the data file between a first transport layer connection established between the client agent and a appliance and a second transport layer connection established between the appliance and a server.