SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DOMAIN NAME RESOLUTION INTERCEPTION CACHING

• US 20100088398A1
• Filed: 12/09/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Plamondon, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,364,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data

Abstract

The present solution provides a variety of techniques for accelerating and optimizing network traffic, such as HTTP based network traffic. The solution described herein provides techniques in the areas of proxy caching, protocol acceleration, domain name resolution acceleration as well as compression improvements. In some cases, the present solution provides various prefetching and/or prefreshening techniques to improve intermediary or proxy caching, such as HTTP proxy caching. In other cases, the present solution provides techniques for accelerating a protocol by improving the efficiency of obtaining and servicing data from an originating server to server to clients. In another cases, the present solution accelerates domain name resolution more quickly. As every HTTP access starts with a URL that includes a hostname that must be resolved via domain name resolution into an IP address, the present solution helps accelerate HTTP access. In some cases, the present solution improves compression techniques by prefetching non-cacheable and cacheable content to use for compressing network traffic, such as HTTP. The acceleration and optimization techniques described herein may be deployed on the client as a client agent or as part of a browser, as well as on any type and form of intermediary device, such as an appliance, proxying device or any type of interception caching and/or proxying device.

Claims

1. A method for performing domain name resolution using interception caching by an intermediary network device, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying, by an intermediary device, a destination internet protocol address of a first request from a client for a uniform resource locator;

storing, by the intermediary device, the destination internet protocol address as a domain name server (DNS) resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator;

receiving, by the intermediary device, a second request for the uniform resource locator; and

transmitting, by the intermediary device, the second request to a destination identified by the destination internet protocol address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, receiving, by the intermediary device, the second request from one of the client or a second client.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the intermediary device, from the client the first request to establish a connection with a server identified by the destination internet protocol address.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, by the intermediary device, in a cache the destination internet protocol address as the DNS resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating, by the intermediary device, the destination internet protocol address with a host name identified by the uniform resource locator.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the intermediary device, the second request to a server identified by the destination internet protocol address.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the intermediary device, a DNS request of the client to resolve a host name identified by the uniform resource locator;

identifying, by the intermediary device, the destination internet protocol address as a resolved address of the host name; and

serving, by the intermediary device, the destination internet protocol address as the DNS resolved address in response to one or more DNS request of the client.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the intermediary device, a DNS request to resolve the destination internet protocol address while using the destination internet protocol address as the DNS resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising updating, by the intermediary device, the DNS resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator in response to an information from a response to the DNS request to resolve the destination internet protocol address.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the intermediary device, a DNS request to resolve a domain name into an internet protocol address;

assigning, by the intermediary device, the generated DNS request with a priority for a speculative request;

transmitting, by the intermediary device, the generated DNS request as the speculative request in accordance with the assigned priority;

storing, by the intermediary device, an internet protocol address of the resolved domain name from a response received to the generated DNS request as the destination internet protocol address prior to receiving the first request.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

parsing, by the intermediary device, a uniform resource locator of a page;

determining, by the intermediary device, that an internet protocol address of a domain name identified in the uniform resource locator is stored in a cache;

generating, by the intermediary device, a request for an update for the internet protocol address for the domain name; and

updating, by the intermediary device, the internet protocol address of the page as the destination internet protocol address prior to receiving the first request.

12. A system for performing domain name resolution using interception caching by an intermediary network device, the system comprising:

a network engine of an intermediary device identifying a destination internet protocol address of a first request from a client for a uniform resource locator;

a cache manager of the intermediary device storing the destination internet protocol address as a domain name server (DNS) resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator;

wherein, the cache manager receives a second request for the uniform resource locator; and

the network engine transmits the second request to a destination identified by the destination internet protocol address.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the cache manager receives the second request from one of the client or a second client.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the cache manager receives from the client the first request to establish a connection with a server identified by the destination internet protocol address.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the cache manager stores in a cache the destination internet protocol address as the DNS resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the cache manager associates the destination internet protocol address with a host name identified by the uniform resource locator.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the network engine transmits the second request to a server identified by the destination internet protocol address.

18. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

the network engine receiving a DNS request of the client to resolve a host name identified by the uniform resource locator;

the cache manager identifying the destination internet protocol address as a resolved address of the host name and serving the destination internet protocol address as the DNS resolved address in response to one or more DNS request of the client.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the network engine transmits a DNS request to resolve the destination internet protocol address while using the destination internet protocol address as the DNS resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the cache manager updates the DNS resolved internet protocol address for the uniform resource locator in response to an information from a response to the DNS request to resolve the destination internet protocol address.

21. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

the network engine generating a DNS request to resolve a domain name into an internet protocol address and transmitting the generated DNS request as a speculative request in accordance with priority for the speculative request assigned to the generated DNS request; and

the cache manager storing an internet protocol address of the resolved domain name from a response received to the generated DNS request as the destination internet protocol address prior to receiving the first request.

22. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

the network engine parsing a uniform resource locator of a page;

the cache manager determining that an internet protocol address of a domain name identified in the uniform resource locator is stored in a cache;

the network engine generating a request for an update for the internet protocol address for the domain name; and

the cache manager updating the internet protocol address of the page as the destination internet protocol address prior to receiving the first request.