Updating server-related data at a client

• US 6,161,145 A
• Filed: 05/08/1997
• Issued: 12/12/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cocks, Stephen James, Normington, Glyn, Leff, Avraham, Freund, Thomas, Rayfield, James Thomas, Ferguson, Donald Francis, Storey, Robert Anthony, Bainbridge, Andrew John
• Primary Examiner(s): Geckil, Mehmet B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C.
• Application Number:
  US08/853,382
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/225, 709/229, 709/232, 709/242, 709/246, 709/227, 713/200, 713/201, 713/202, 713/172, 713/158, 713/171, 713/182, 713/185, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

In a data processing environment where a client requests a server to perform part of its processing, a method of updating the client'"'"'s version of server-related data without requiring the client to be a server, includes steps of: receiving, at a control point server, a first request from the client requesting that server-related data be transferred from the control point server to the client; and in response to the first request, sending the server-related data from the control point server to the client, along with a unique bind token identifying a version number of the server-related data such that each time the server-related data changes a new unique bind token is associated with the data, where the client uses the server-related data to form a second request for the server to perform part of the client'"'"'s processing, and where the client sends said bind token to the server as part of the second request.

Claims

1. In a data processing environment where a client requests a server to perform part of its processing, a method of updating said client'"'"'s version of server-related client access data, comprising steps of:

receiving, at a control point server, a first request from said client requesting that server-related client access data be transferred from said control point server to said client; and

in response to said first request, sending said server-related client access data from said control point server to said client, along with a unique bind token identifying a version number of said server-related client access data such that each time said server-related client access data changes a new unique bind token is associated with said data,

wherein said client uses said server-related client access data to form a second request for said server to perform part of said client'"'"'s processing, and

wherein said client sends bind token to said server as part of said second request,

wherein, upon receiving said second request said server performs steps of;

checking whether said bind token received in said second request is stored in said server'"'"'s local store and is marked as valid; and

if said checking step determines that said bind token is stored in said server'"'"'s local store and is marked valid, scheduling said request form execution within said server,

wherein said server performs further steps of;

if said checking step returns a negative result such that said scheduling step is not reached, checking whether said token is marked as invalid; and

if said token is marked invalid, returning said bind token to said client as part of a reply thereto.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said client performs the steps of:

receiving said reply from said server;

in response to said receiving step, forming a third request for updated server-related client access data corresponding to said invalid bind token included in said reply;

sending said third request to said control point server;

receiving a reply from said control point server with updated server-related client access data and a new bind token;

forming a fourth request using said updated server-related client access data received from said control point server and including said new bind token; and

sending said fourth request to said server.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the client is a pure client which can send requests to servers but cannot receive requests from other distributed computers on the network.

4. In a data processing environment where a client requests a server to perform part of its processing, a system for updating said client'"'"'s version of server-related client access data, comprising:

means for receiving, at a control point server, a first request from said client requesting that server-related client access data be transferred from said control point server to said client; and

means for, in response to said first request, sending said server-related client access data from said control point server to said client, along with a unique bind token identifying a version number of said server-related client access data such that each time said server-related client access data changes a new unique bind token is associated with said data,

wherein said client uses said server-related client access data to form a second request for said server to perform part of said client'"'"'s processing, and

wherein said client sends bind token to said server as part of said second request,

wherein, upon receiving said second request said server performs steps of;

checking whether said bind token received in said second request is stored in said server'"'"'s local store and is marked as valid; and

if said checking step determines that said bind token is stored in said server'"'"'s local store and is marked valid, scheduling said request form execution within said server,

wherein said server performs further steps of;

if said checking step returns a negative result such that said scheduling step is not reached, checking whether said token is marked as invalid; and

if said token is marked invalid, returning said bind token to said client as part of a reply thereto.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the client is a pure client which can send requests to servers but cannot receive requests from other distributed computers on the network.

6. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable storage medium, said product including software portions for, when run be a computer, performing, in a data processing environment where a client requests a server to perform part of its processing, a method of updating said client'"'"'s version of server-related client access data, said software code portions including:

means for receiving, at a control point server, a first request from said client requesting that server-related client access data be transferred from said control point server to said client; and

means for, in response to said first request, sending said server-related client access data from said control point server to said client, along with a unique bind token identifying a version number of said server-related client access data such that each time said server-related client access data changes a new unique bind token is associated with said data,

wherein said client uses said server-related client access data to form a second request for said server to perform part of said client'"'"'s processing, and

wherein said client sends bind token to said server as part of said second request,

wherein, upon receiving said second request, said server performs steps of;

checking whether said bind token received in said second request is stored in said server'"'"'s local store and is marked as valid; and

if said checking step determines that said bind token is stored in said server'"'"'s local store and is marked valid, scheduling said request form execution within said server,

wherein said server performs further steps of;

if said checking step returns a negative result such that said scheduling step is not reached, checking whether said token is marked as invalid; and

if said token is marked invalid, returning said bind token to said client as part of a reply thereto.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein the client is a pure client which can send requests to servers but cannot receive requests from other distributed computers on the network.