Shared web page caching at browsers for an intranet

• US 6,253,234 B1
• Filed: 10/17/1997
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fisher, Jeffrey O., Lambert, Eddie, Hunt, Gary T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMSON, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US08/953,347
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/8, 707/10, 709/200-205, 709/213-219, 709/227, 709/237, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/213
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Each client in an intranet includes at least the minimum functionality required to serve a remote request such as an HTTP request. Existing browsers within the intranet may share their collective local caches to form a scalable cache. The intranet proxy routes page requests from one client within the intranet to another when a local cache within the intranet contains a current copy of the requested page. A trust protocol insures that clients serving as caches may be trusted by the proxy, while a refresh mechanism such as a time-out policy ensures that the page is reloaded after a predetermined period of time. The collective cache thus scales with the number of browsers in the intranet, and existing browsers may be employed without direct modification. The same mechanism may be utilized, either within a network or through an Internet service provider, to permit individuals and companies to maintain Web sites on their own personal systems without paying fees for uninterrupted connection to the Internet.

Claims

1. A method of sharing browser caches in an intranet, comprising:

providing each browser within an intranet with the capability to serve HTTP requests;

determining whether an HTTP request from a browser within the intranet for a page from a source outside the intranet seeks a page contained in a shared browser cache maintained by a browser on a data processing system in the intranet;

rerouting the HTTP request to the browser maintaining the shared browser cache containing the requested page; and

serving an HTTP response to the HTTP request utilizing the browser maintaining the shared browser cache containing the requested page.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining cache contents information for each shared browser cache within the intranet, wherein the cache contents information is accessible to each browser within the intranet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether an HTTP request from a browser within the intranet seeks a page contained in a shared browser cache maintained by a browser on a data processing system in the intranet further comprises:

receiving an HTTP load request from a requesting browser within the intranet for a page; and

checking the cache contents information to determine if a shared browser cache within the intranet contains the requested page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of rerouting the HTTP request to the browser maintaining the shared browser cache containing the requested page further comprises:

responsive to determining that the request seeks a page contained within a shared browser cache within the intranet, determining whether the requested page needs to be updated; and

responsive to determining that the requested page does not need to be updated, routing the HTTP request to an server for the data processing system maintaining the shared browser cache containing the requested page.

5. A method of sharing caches in an intranet, comprising:

for each system within the intranet including a browser capable of serving HTTP requests from other systems within the intranet, storing retrieved pages in a local cache associated with the browser;

maintaining cache contents for each local cache within the intranet, wherein the cache contents includes a retrieval time for each page within a corresponding local cache;

upon receiving an HTTP request from a browser within the intranet for a page identified by an URL outside the intranet;

determining from the cache contents whether any local cache contains the requested page and, if so, whether the requested page requires updating;

responsive to determining that a local cache contains the requested pace and that updating is not required, rerouting the HTTP request to a browser within the intranet maintaining the local cache containing the requested page without transmitting the HTTP request to a source for the requested page and serving a response to the HTTP request from the browser maintaining the local cache containing the requested page;

responsive to determining that a local cache contains the requested page but that the requested page requires updating, routing the HTTP request to the source; and

responsive to determining that no local cache contains the requested page, routing the HTTP request to the source.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of storing retrieved pages in a local cache further comprises:

storing retrieved pages in a local cache within a client.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of storing retrieved pages in a local cache further comprises:

storing retrieved pages in a local cache within a server.

8. An intranet, comprising:

a plurality of user units each having a browser maintaining a shared browser cache and having HTTP serving capabilities; and

a server connected to each of the plurality of user units and providing Internet access to the plurality of user units,

wherein the server, upon receiving an HTTP request from a user unit within the intranet for a page from a source outside the intranet, determines whether the page requested by the HTTP request is contained within a shared browser cache on a user unit within the intranet and, responsive to determining that the requested page is contained within a shared browser cache on a user unit within the intranet, redirects the ETTP request to the user unit within the plurality of user units which maintains the shared browser cache containing the page requested by the request without transmitting the request to the source.

9. The intranet of claim 8, wherein the server further comprises:

a proxy receiving and redirecting requests.

10. The intranet of claim 8, wherein each user unit within the plurality of user units further comprises:

a browser for Internet access.

11. The intranet of claim 8, wherein the server further comprises:

a firewall protecting the plurality of users units from external data processing systems connected to the intranet; and

a proxy providing the Internet access to the plurality of user units.

12. An Internet client, comprising:

a data processing system functioning as an intranet client maintaining a shared browser cache and capable of serving an HTTP request; and

a connection to the data processing system for a server containing a proxy,

wherein the data processing system serves an HTTP request for a page from a source outside the intranet which is rerouted by the server to the data processing system from another intranet client.

13. The Internet client of claim 12, further comprising:

a browser application for retrieving requested pages.

14. The Internet client of claim 13, wherein data processing system converts the HTTP request to a protocol required to retrieve the requested page from the shared browser cache.

15. A computer program product in a computer usable medium, comprising:

instructions in the computer usable medium for establishing a data processing system executing the instructions as an intranet peer maintaining a shared browser cache;

instructions in the computer usable medium for providing HTTP serving capabilities to a browser executing within the data processing system;

instructions in the computer usable medium for receiving an HTTP request for a page identified by a URL for a system other than the data processing system, wherein a copy of the requested page is contained within the shared browser cache; and

instructions in the computer usable medium for serving the request from the shared browser cache utilizing the browser.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions for serving the request from the shared browser cache further comprise:

instructions for converting the request to a protocol required to retrieve the page from the shared browser cache.