Method and System for Redirecting a Client

• US 20140129610A1
• Filed: 01/14/2014
• Published: 05/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Tao
• Granted Patent: US 9,661,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A method and a system for redirecting a client are disclosed, the method including: sending by the client a request message to a redirect agent; returning by the redirect agent a first response message to the client, an identification of a second realm being carried in the first response message; sending by the client the request message to a second server in the second realm. The data are maintained and modified only on the redirect agent, so that the redirection service between different realms may be realized without upgrading or maintaining the client. In addition, because the number of redirect agents is much smaller than the number of clients, the operation and maintenance costs may be reduced greatly.

Claims

1. A method for redirecting a client comprising:

sending, by the client, a request message to a redirect agent, wherein the client is directed to a first server in a first realm;

receiving, by the client, a first response message from the redirect agent, wherein an identification of a second realm is carried in the first response message, wherein the second realm has a plurality of servers, and wherein the identification of the second realm is set in a redirect field of the first response message received by the client from the redirect agent; and

sending, by the client, the request message to a second server in the second realm.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein identification of the second realm comprises an identification of a new realm to which the client is to be redirected.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the redirect agent, the request message from the client;

determining, by the redirect agent, whether the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to a new realm; and

returning the first response message to the client based at least in part on a determination that the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to the new realm.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein determining whether the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to the new realm comprises determining whether the redirect agent is required to send the request message to the second realm according to at least one of a destination realm and a destination host assigned in the request message.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the request message to the second server in the second realm comprises:

parsing, by the client, an address of the second server directly when the second server is directly connected to the client; and

sending the request message to the second server in the second realm.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the request message to the second server in the second realm comprises:

searching, by the client, for an address of a next hop through the second realm;

sending, by the client, the request message to a node of the next hop when the second server is not directly connected to the client;

parsing, by the node of the next hop, the address of the second server; and

sending, by the node of the next hop, the request message to the second server in the second realm.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the second server, the request message from the client;

performing, by the second server, a corresponding operation according to the request message; and

returning, by the second server, a second response message.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein performing, by the second server, the corresponding operation according to the request message comprises executing, by the second server, the request message.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein performing, by the second server, the corresponding operation according to the request message comprises performing, by the second server, redirection on the request message from the client to another server.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the request message and the first response message are carried in a Diameter protocol.

11. A client for being redirected by a redirect agent comprising:

a memory; and

a processor that is connected to the memory and is configured to;

send a request message to the redirect agent, wherein the client is directed to a first server in a first realm;

receive a first response message from the redirect agent, wherein an identification of a second realm is carried in the first response message, wherein the second realm has a plurality of servers, and wherein the identification of the second realm is set in a redirect field of the first response message received by the client from the redirect agent; and

send the request message to a second server in the second realm.

12. The client according to claim 11, wherein identification of the second realm comprises an identification of a new realm to which the client is to be redirected.

13. The client according to claim 11, wherein in sending the request message to the second server in the second realm, the processor is further configured to:

parse an address of the second server directly when the second server is directly connected to the client; and

send the request message to the second server in the second realm.

14. The client according to claim 11, wherein in sending the request message to the second server in the second realm, the processor is further configured to:

search for an address of a next hop through the second realm; and

send the request message to a node of the next hop when the second server is not directly connected to the client such that the node of the next hop parses the address of the second server and sends the request message to the second server in the second realm.

15. A method for redirecting a client that is used to request a redirect agent to assign a different server in a new realm for the client, the method comprising:

receiving, by the redirect agent, a request message from the client, wherein the client is directed to a first server in a first realm;

determining, by the redirect agent, whether the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to a new realm; and

returning a first response message to the client based at least in part on a determination that the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to the new realm, wherein an identification of a second realm is carried in the first response message, wherein the second realm has a plurality of servers, and wherein the identification of the second realm is set in a redirect field of the first response message returned from the redirect agent to the client, such that the client sends the request message to a second server in the second realm after receiving the first response message from the redirect agent.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein identification of the second realm comprises an identification of the new realm to which the client is to be redirected.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein determining whether the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to the new realm comprises determining whether the redirect agent is required to send the request message to the second realm according to at least one of a destination realm and a destination host assigned in the request message.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the request message and the first response message are carried in a Diameter protocol.

19. A redirect agent comprising:

a memory; and

a processor that is connected to the memory and is configured to;

receive a request message from a client, wherein the client is directed to a first server in a first realm;

determine whether the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to a new realm; and

return a first response message to the client based at least in part on a determination that the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to the new realm, wherein an identification of a second realm is carried in the first response message, wherein the second realm has a plurality of servers, and wherein the identification of the second realm is set in a redirect field of the first response message returned from the redirect agent to the client, such that the client sends the request message to a second server in the second realm after receiving the first response message from the redirect agent.

20. The redirect agent according to claim 19, wherein identification of the second realm comprises an identification of the new realm to which the client is to be redirected.

21. The redirect agent according to claim 19, wherein in determining whether the redirect agent is required to redirect the request message from the client to a new realm, the processor is further configured to determine whether the redirect agent is required to send the request message to the second realm according to at least one of a destination realm and a destination host assigned in the request message.

22. The redirect agent according to claim 19, wherein the request message and the first response message are carried in a Diameter protocol.