DISTRIBUTION OF TRAFFIC ACROSS A COMPUTER NETWORK
First Claim
1. A relay apparatus associated with a first Internet service provider (ISP) at a first point of presence (POP) in a first geographic area, wherein the first ISP includes a first remote POP in a second geographic area, the first POP and first remote POP in communication via a first wide area network (WAN) of the first ISP, the relay apparatus comprising:
- an interface in communication with the first WAN of the first ISP;
a processor configured to receive a request from a second POP of a second ISP in the first geographic area, wherein the second ISP includes a second remote POP in the second geographic area, the second POP and the second remote POP in communication via a second WAN of the second ISP;
wherein the request is intended for a server at the first remote POP of the first ISP in the second geographic area;
wherein the processor is further configured to initiate transmission of the request to the server via the first WAN by identifying the relay apparatus as the source of the request; and
wherein identification of the relay apparatus as the source of the request inhibits the server from transmitting any responses to the request across the second WAN from the second remote POP to the second POP, and, instead, induces the server to transmit any responses to the request across the first WAN from the first remote POP to the first POP via the relay apparatus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of distributing traffic across a computer network is provided using a relay apparatus. A relay apparatus includes an interface to a communication network, a data store, and a processor. The data store includes data elements associating a first network address of a server to a second network address of the server. The processor is configured to receive a request corresponding to a data element in the data store, use the data element to determine a corresponding server, and forward the request to the server in a manner such that any response to the forwarded request is sent to the relay apparatus.
133 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A relay apparatus associated with a first Internet service provider (ISP) at a first point of presence (POP) in a first geographic area, wherein the first ISP includes a first remote POP in a second geographic area, the first POP and first remote POP in communication via a first wide area network (WAN) of the first ISP, the relay apparatus comprising:
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an interface in communication with the first WAN of the first ISP; a processor configured to receive a request from a second POP of a second ISP in the first geographic area, wherein the second ISP includes a second remote POP in the second geographic area, the second POP and the second remote POP in communication via a second WAN of the second ISP; wherein the request is intended for a server at the first remote POP of the first ISP in the second geographic area; wherein the processor is further configured to initiate transmission of the request to the server via the first WAN by identifying the relay apparatus as the source of the request; and wherein identification of the relay apparatus as the source of the request inhibits the server from transmitting any responses to the request across the second WAN from the second remote POP to the second POP, and, instead, induces the server to transmit any responses to the request across the first WAN from the first remote POP to the first POP via the relay apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method comprising:
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at a first point of presence (POP) associated with a first Internet service provider (ISP), receiving a request from a second POP associated with a second ISP, wherein the first POP and the second POP are in a first geographic area; wherein receiving the request includes identifying a server to which the request is intended, the server being at a first remote POP associated with the first ISP in a second geographic area, wherein the first POP and the first remote POP are in communication via a first wide area network (WAN) of the first ISP, and wherein the second ISP includes a second remote POP at the second geographic area, the second POP and the second remote POP in communication via a second WAN of the second ISP; and modifying the request to specify an address of a relay device at the first POP as the source of the request, wherein modifying the request inhibits the server from transmitting any responses to the request across the second WAN from the second remote POP to the second POP, and, instead, induces the server to transmit any responses to the request across the first WAN from the first remote POP to the first POP via the relay apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a first point of presence (POP) associated with a first Internet service provider (ISP) in a first geographic area, wherein the first POP is in communication with a first remote POP of the First ISP across a first wide area network (WAN) of the first ISP, the first remote POP located in a second geographic area; a second (POP) associated with a second Internet service provider (ISP) in the first geographic area, wherein the second POP is in communication with a second remote POP of the second ISP across a second wide area network (WAN) of the second ISP, the second remote POP located in the second geographic area; a server at the first remote POP of the first ISP in the second geographic area, the server configured to respond to requests from users of at least the first ISP and the second ISP; at least one relay device configured to receive a request from the second POP of the second ISP in the first geographic area, wherein the request is intended for the server at the first remote POP of the first ISP in the second geographic area; wherein the at least one relay device is further configured to initiate transmission of the request to the server via the first WAN by identifying the at least one relay device as the source or the request; and wherein identification of the at least one relay device as the source of the request inhibits the server from transmitting any responses to the request across the second WAN from the second remote POP to the second POP, and, instead, induces the server to transmit any responses to the request across the first WAN from the first remote POP to the first POP via the relay device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification