Method and system for directing a flow between a client and a server
First Claim
1. In an Internet Protocol network, a method for directing a flow between a client and a best-fit server, the method comprising:
- receiving a client request for content via the Internet Protocol network;
deriving, from the client request, content type information descriptive of the type of content requested by the content request;
deriving, from the client request, quality of service information descriptive of quality of service requirements of the content requested by the client request;
selecting as the best-fit server a server from among a set of candidate servers serving the content requested by the client request, based on the content type information, the quality of service information, and at least one server metric descriptive of expected qualities of service provided by the candidate servers when serving the requested content;
subsequently forwarding to the best-fit server transmissions originating from the client which are associated with the client request for content; and
subsequently forwarding to the client transmissions originating from the best-fit server which are associated with the client request for content.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A content-aware flow switch intercepts a client content request in an IP network, and transparently directs the content request to a best-fit server. The best-fit server is chosen based on the type of content requested, the quality of service requirements implied by the content request, the degree of load on available servers, network congestion information, and the proximity of the client to available servers. The flow switch detects client-server flows based on the arrival of TCP SYNs and/or HTTP GETs from the client. The flow switch implicitly deduces the quality of service requirements of a flow based on the content of the flow. The flow switch also provides the functionality of multiple physical web servers on a single web server in a way that is transparent to the client, through the use of virtual web hosts and flow pipes.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. In an Internet Protocol network, a method for directing a flow between a client and a best-fit server, the method comprising:
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receiving a client request for content via the Internet Protocol network; deriving, from the client request, content type information descriptive of the type of content requested by the content request; deriving, from the client request, quality of service information descriptive of quality of service requirements of the content requested by the client request; selecting as the best-fit server a server from among a set of candidate servers serving the content requested by the client request, based on the content type information, the quality of service information, and at least one server metric descriptive of expected qualities of service provided by the candidate servers when serving the requested content; subsequently forwarding to the best-fit server transmissions originating from the client which are associated with the client request for content; and subsequently forwarding to the client transmissions originating from the best-fit server which are associated with the client request for content. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A system for directing a flow between a client and a best-fit server, the system comprising:
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a plurality of servers; a flow switch coupled to the plurality of servers by an Internet Protocol network through one or more communication links, wherein the flow switch comprises; means for receiving a client request for content via the Internet Protocol network; means for deriving, from the client request, content type information descriptive of the type of content requested by the content request; means for deriving, from the client request, quality of service information descriptive of quality of service requirements of the content requested by the client request; means for selecting as the best-fit server a server from among a set of candidate servers serving the content requested by the client request, based on the content type information, the quality of service information, and a combination of server metrics descriptive of expected qualities of service provided by the candidate servers when serving the requested content; means for subsequently forwarding to the best-fit server transmissions originating from the client which are associated with the client request for content; and means for subsequently forwarding to the client transmissions originating from the best-fit server which are associated with the client request for content. - View Dependent Claims (46)
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47. A flow switch in an Internet Protocol network, comprising:
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means for receiving a client request for content via the Internet Protocol network; means for deriving, from the client request, content type information descriptive of the type of content requested by the content request; means for deriving, from the client request, quality of service information descriptive of quality of service requirements of the content requested by the client request; means for selecting as the best-fit server a server from among a set of candidate servers serving the content requested by the client request, based on the content type information, the quality of service information, and at least one server metric descriptive of expected qualities of service provided by the candidate servers when serving the requested content; means for subsequently forwarding to the best-fit server transmissions originating from the client which are associated with the client request for content; and means for subsequently forwarding to the client transmissions originating from the best-fit server which are associated with the client request for content.
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Specification