METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENHANCING MS EXCHANGE (MAPI) END USER EXPERIENCES IN A SPLIT PROXY ENVIRONMENT

• US 20090193443A1
• Filed: 01/28/2008
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Blue Coat Systems Incorporated (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Gailis, Janis, Lizon, Marcin, Lakshmanan, Meenakshi Sundaram, Thurston, Matthew Paul, Rogobete, Adrian
• Granted Patent: US 8,505,038 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/330
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

A split proxy is configured for managing asynchronous MAPI communications between a client and a server by establishing a queuing structure for MAPI messages that make up the communications. The MAPI messages are subsequently exchanged between the client and the server using the queuing structure. Multiple remote procedure calls (RPCs) underlying the MAPI messages may be grouped together in batches for exchange between proxies of the split proxy. Also, when the client logs off from the server, a MAPI keep-alive process allows updates received at the server to be pre-populated to the split proxy for transfer to the client when it reestablishes a connection.

Claims

1. A method, comprising creating, at each proxy of a split proxy pair, message queues for messages exchanged between each of the proxies in support of MAPI communications between a client and a server and setting sockets associated with each queue to listen for asynchronous communications between the client and the server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, receiving, at a first one of the message queues at a first one of the proxies of the split proxy pair, a message associated with a remote procedure call (RPC) from the client to the server and processing the message associated with the RPC according to whether or not the first message queue is empty.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first message queue is empty, then processing the message associated with the RPC immediately and transmitting a corresponding message from the first proxy to a second one of the proxies of the split proxy pair.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving, at the first proxy and from the second proxy, a message responsive to the message corresponding to message associated with the RPC, and, upon confirming said correspondence, transmitting a message response to the message associated with the RPC from the first proxy to the client.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first message queue is not empty, then determining if the message associated with the RPC has an existing response stored at the first proxy and, if so, transmitting the response from the first proxy to the client.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first message queue is not empty, then determining if the message associated with the RPC has an existing response stored at the first proxy and, if not, adding the message associated with the RPC to the first message queue and transmitting a corresponding message from the first proxy to the second proxy.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, receiving, at a first one of the message queues at a first one of the proxies of the split proxy pair, a message associated with a remote procedure call (RPC) from the client to the server and processing the message according to whether or not an identifier in the message corresponds to an identifier of a previously stored message maintained by the first proxy.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein if the identifier in the message corresponds to the identifier of the previously stored message maintained by the first proxy, then transmitting an RPC response corresponding to the previously stored message to the client.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein if the identifier in the message does not correspond to any identifiers of previously stored messages maintained by the first proxy, then processing the message associated with the RPC immediately and transmitting a corresponding message from the first proxy to a second one of the proxies of the split proxy pair.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first queue is not empty, then queuing the message associated with the RPC at the first proxy.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first queue is empty, then either queuing the message associated with the RPC at the first proxy or transmitting a corresponding RPC request to the server from the first proxy, depending on whether or not another RPC request is identified as being outstanding.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first queue is empty, and an RPC request is presently outstanding from the first proxy, then either queuing the message associated with the RPC at the first proxy or transmitting a corresponding RPC request to the server from the first proxy depending on a status of a context parameter of message associated with the RPC.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein, if the first queue is empty, queuing the message associated with the RPC at the first proxy.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first queue is not empty, and a corresponding RPC request was earlier received at the first proxy, then transferring an RPC response corresponding to the message associated with the RPC from the first proxy to the server.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein if the first queue is not empty, but no corresponding RPC request was earlier received at the first proxy, then queuing the message associated with the RPC at the first proxy.

16. A method, comprising configuring a split proxy for managing MAPI communications between a client and a server by establishing a queuing structure for MAPI messages that make up said communications;

and processing said MAPI messages exchanged between the client and the server using said queuing structure, wherein queues comprising said queuing structure are set to listen for messages arriving from clients and servers asynchronously.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein multiple remote procedure calls (RPCs) underlying said MAPI messages are grouped together for batch exchange between proxies of the split proxy.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising fabricating, at one or more proxies that comprise the split proxy, one or more MAPI messages to or from the client or server to provoke responses from said client or server, respectively.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising recognizing an event signaling the client logging off of the server and maintaining a MAPI connection between the split proxy and the server.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising exchanging over said MAPI connection between the split proxy and the server messages intended for the client and received at the server while the client is logged off from the server.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein exchanging comprises, for each respective keep-alive period, transferring from the server to the split proxy only those of the messages intended for the client that were received at the server since a last most recent respective keep-alive period.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the queuing structure is established on a per-client basis within a context of a session associated with the client on the split proxy.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the MAPI messages are processed on a per-client basis within a context of a session associated with the client on the split proxy.

24. A method, comprising establishing a user session at a split proxy, the user session associated with MAPI communications between a client and a server;

and processing MAPI messages exchanged between the client and the server asynchronously within the session.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising continuing the user session following the client logging off of the server.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein continuing the user session following the client logging off of the server comprises retrieving messages intended for the client from the server and storing the messages at a proxy of the split proxy.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising delivering the messages to the client from the proxy.