Collaborative server processing of content and meta-information with application to virus checking in a server network

• US 6,275,937 B1
• Filed: 11/26/1997
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Trend Micro Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hailpern, Brent Tzion, Malkin, Peter Kenneth, Schloss, Robert Jeffrey, White, Steve R., Yu, Philip Shi-lung, Palmer, Charles Campbell
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Application Number:
  US08/979,748
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/205, 709/246, 709/203, 709/315, 713/167, 713/201
• US Class Current: 713/188
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities

Abstract

Method, system and computer program product for collaboratively processing a data object in a client-server hierarchy based on meta-information associated with the object. Processing results are indicated by the server that performed the processing as updates to the meta-information associated with the data object. The PICS protocol may be used to communicate the meta-information. Digital signing and authentication of the object and associated meta-information are also described. Further, servers can determine processing by considering various factors, e.g., their current load condition; if the object is to be multicast; if the object can be cached; and/or if the specified cost and time constraints can be met. The overall processing applied to data objects can be divided between servers based on object types, steps, functions, software packages or versions/releases. Other aspects of the invention are also described.

Claims

1. In a network of servers coupling a server of objects to a client through at least one intermediary server, a method for processing an object to be sent from the server, said method comprising:

(a) allowing at least one of said client and said at least one intermediary server to initially specify meta information to be associated with said object;

(b) processing said object'"'"'s content at an intermediary server of said at least one intermediary server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

(c) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (b) of said object by said intermediary server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said meta information includes a request for processing, and wherein said processing (b) comprises processing said object content pursuant to said request for processing of said meta information associated with said object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said request for processing is communicated using platform for internet content selection (PICS) protocol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said intermediary server comprises a first intermediary server of said network of servers and said method further comprises communicating processed object content resulting from said processing (b) and modified meta information resulting from said modifying (c) to a second intermediary server in said network of servers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing (b) comprises modifying said object content at said intermediary server pursuant to said meta information associated with said object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing (b) further comprises producing a feedback communication from said processing of said object'"'"'s content, and wherein said method further comprises providing said feedback communication to at least one of another intermediary server or a client of said network of servers.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said object comprises executable code.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said object comprises a compound object, said compound object having multiple objects, each object of said compound object having meta information associated therewith, and wherein said processing (b) comprises processing content of at least one object of said compound object using said at least one object'"'"'s associated meta information, and wherein said modifying (c) comprises modifying said meta information associated with said at least one object of said compound object to reflect said processing (b) of said at least one object by said intermediary server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying (c) comprises modifying at said intermediary server said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (b) of said object at said intermediary server.

10. In a network of servers, a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith, said method comprising:

(a) processing said object'"'"'s content at a server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (a) of said object; and

(c) further comprising deciding at said server whether to perform said processing (a) of said object content, said deciding comprising considering at least one of current processing load of said server, or a number of prior requests for said object.

11. In a network of servers, a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith, said method comprising:

(a) processing said object'"'"'s content at a server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (a) of said object; and

(c) further comprising determining at said server whether to perform said processing (a), said determining comprising considering at least one of whether;

said object is for multicasting;

said object is to be cached at said server;

said processing (a) can be performed for a user-specified price;

or said processing (a) can be performed within a user-specified time constraint.

12. In a network of servers coupling a sender of objects to a client through at least one intermediary server, a method for processing an object sent from the sender, said method comprising:

(a) allowing at least one of said client and said at least one intermediary server to initially specify meta information to be associated with said object,

(b) at least partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first intermediary server of said network of servers, said at least partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

(c) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said at least partial processing (b) (a) of said object.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising communicating said at least partially processed object and said modified meta information from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers, and at least partially processing said object'"'"'s content at said second intermediary server of said network of servers, said at least partial processing of said object content being pursuant to said modified meta information associated with said object, and said method further comprises modifying said meta information associated with said object at said second intermediary server to reflect said at least partial processing of said object occurring at said second intermediary server.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said method further comprises proceeding with said at least partial processing (b) pursuant to a request for processing within said associated meta information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said request for processing comprises a request for virus checking said object content.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein said method further comprises continuing processing of said object content at a second intermediary server of said network of servers and wherein said continuing processing of said object content at said second intermediary server is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said meta information associated with said object.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising using platform for internet content selection (PICS) protocol to communicate said meta information from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein said at least partial processing (b) is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said associated meta information, and wherein said at least partial processing proceeds based on object type.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising proceeding with said at least partial processing (b) at said first intermediary server based upon said first intermediary server'"'"'s capabilities, said capabilities comprising steps, functions, coverage, software packages or versions/releases resident on said first intermediary server.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein said object comprises a compound object, said compound object having multiple objects, each object of said compound object having meta information associated therewith, and wherein said at least partial processing (b) comprises processing content of at least one object of said compound object using said at least one object'"'"'s associated meta information, and wherein said modifying (c) comprises modifying said meta information associated with said at least one object of said compound object to reflect said partial processing (b) of said at least one object of said compound object.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein said allowing (a) comprises specifying a request for processing, said request for processing comprising at least one of an acceptable return/delivery time, or an acceptable cost for return/delivery of said object.

24. The method of claim 12, wherein said first intermediary server comprises one of a proxy server, a mail relay server, or a news server.

25. The method of claim 12, wherein said at least partial processing (b) comprises virus checking said object content, and wherein said method further comprises maintaining at said first intermediary server based on said virus checking at least one of reliability statistics or reliability classification for a content server providing said object content.

28. The method of claim 12, wherein said at least partial processing (b) further comprises producing a feedback communication from said at least partial processing of said object'"'"'s content, and wherein said method further comprises providing said feedback communication to at least one of another server or a client of said network of servers, said feedback communication comprising information on at least one of checking performed by said first intermediary server or reliability statistics on a content server providing said object content.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising communicating said feedback communication from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers using platform for internet content selection (PICS) protocol.

30. The method of claim 12, wherein said at least partial processing (b) is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said meta information associated with said object, and wherein said method further comprises completing processing of said request for processing at multiple servers of said network of servers, said multiple servers comprising less than all servers of said network of servers.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein said multiple servers are within a communication path defined between a client and a content server of said network of servers, said content server providing said object content.

32. The method of claim 12, further comprising caching partially processed object content at said first intermediary server and returning a cached copy of said partially processed object content in response to future requests if actual object content has remained unchanged.

22. In a network of servers, a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith, said method comprising:

(a) partially processing said obiect'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing (a) of said object; and

(c) further comprising deciding at said first server whether to perform said at least partial processing (a) of said object content, said deciding comprising considering at least one of current processing load of said first server, or a number of prior requests for said object.

23. In a network of servers, a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing (a) of said object; and

(c) further comprising determining at said first server whether to perform said partial processing (a), said determining comprising considering at least one of whether;

said object is for multicasting;

said object is to be cached at said first server;

said partial processing (a) can be performed for a user-specified price;

or said partial processing (a) can be performed within a user-specified time constraint.

26. In a network of servers, a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith, said method comprising:

(a) partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing (a) of said object;

wherein said at least partial processing (a) comprises virus checking said object content, and wherein said method further comprises maintaining at said first intermediary server based on said virus checking at least one of reliability statistics or reliability classification for a content server providing said object content; and

further comprising applying said virus checking at said first server based on maintained reliability statistics or reliability classification of the content server providing said object content.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising communicating reliability statistics or reliability classification data from said first server to a second server of said network of servers.

33. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said network of servers coupling a sender of objects to a client through at least one intermediary server, said method comprising:

(a) allowing at least one of said client and said at least one intermediary server to initially specify meta information associated with said object;

(b) processing said object'"'"'s content at an intermediary server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

(c) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (b) of said object by said intermediary server.

34. The at least one program storage device of claim 33, wherein said meta information includes a request for processing, and wherein said processing (b) (a) comprises processing said object content pursuant to said request for processing of said meta information associated with said object.

35. The at least one program storage device of claim 33, wherein said intermediary server comprises a first intermediary server of said network of servers and said method further comprises communicating processed object content resulting from said processing (b) and modified meta information resulting from said modifying (c) to a second intermediary server in said network of servers.

36. The at least one program storage device of claim 33, wherein said processing (b) comprises modifying said object content at said intermediary server pursuant to said meta information associated with said object.

37. The at least one program storage device of claim 33, wherein said processing (b) further comprises producing a feedback communication from said processing of said object'"'"'s content, and wherein said method further comprises providing said feedback communication to at least one of another intermediary server or a client of said network of servers.

38. The at least one program storage device of claim 33, wherein said object comprises executable code.

39. The at least one program storage device of claim 33, wherein said object comprises a compound object, said compound object having multiple objects, each object of said compound object having meta information associated therewith, and wherein said processing (b) comprises processing content of at least one object of said compound object using said at least one object'"'"'s associated meta information, and wherein said modifying (c) comprises modifying said meta information associated with said at least one object of said compound object to reflect said processing (b) of said at least one object by said intermediary server.

40. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said method comprising:

(a) processing said object'"'"'s content at a server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (a) of said object; and

(c) wherein said method further comprises deciding at said server whether to perform said intermediary processing (a) of said object content, said deciding comprising considering at least one of current processing load of said intermediary server, or a number of prior requests for said object.

41. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said method comprising:

(a) processing said obiect'"'"'s content at a server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing (a) of said object; and

(c) wherein said method further comprises determining at said server whether to perform said processing (a), said determining comprising considering at least one of whether;

said object is for multicasting;

said object is to be cached at said server;

said processing (a) can be performed for a user-specified price;

or said processing (a) can be performed within a user-specified time constraint.

42. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said network of servers coupling a sender of objects to a client through at least one intermediary server, said method comprising:

(a) allowing at least one of said client and said at least one intermediary server to initially specify meta information associated with said object;

(b) at least partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first intermediary server of said network of servers, said at least partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

(c) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said at least partial processing (b) of said object.

43. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said method further comprises communicating said at least partially processed object and said modified meta information from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers, and at least partially processing said object'"'"'s content at said second intermediary server of said network of servers, said at least partial processing of said object content being pursuant to said modified meta information associated with said object, and said method further comprises modifying said meta information associated with said object at said second intermediary server to reflect said at least partial processing of said object occurring at said second intermediary server.

44. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said method further comprises proceeding with said at least partial processing (b) pursuant to a request for processing within said associated meta information.

45. The at least one program storage device of claim 44, wherein said request for processing comprises a request for virus checking said object content.

46. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said method further comprises continuing processing of said object content at a second intermediary server of said network of servers and wherein said continuing processing of said object content at said second intermediary server is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said meta information associated with said object.

47. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said method further comprises using platform for internet content selection (PICS) protocol to communicate said meta information from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers.

48. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said at least partial processing (b) is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said associated meta information, and wherein said at least partial processing proceeds based on object type.

49. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said object comprises a compound object, said compound object having multiple objects, each object of said compound object having meta information associated therewith, and wherein said at least partial processing (b) comprises processing content of at least one object of said compound object using said at least one object'"'"'s associated meta information, and wherein said modifying (c) comprises modifying said meta information associated with said at least one object of said compound object to reflect said partial processing (b) of said at least one object of said compound object.

50. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said allowing (a) comprises specifying a request for processing, said request for processing comprising at least one of an acceptable return/delivery time, or an acceptable cost for return/delivery of said object.

53. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said at least partial processing (b) comprises virus checking said object content, and wherein said method further comprises maintaining at said first intermediary server based on said virus checking at least one of reliability statistics or reliability classification for a content server providing said object content.

56. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said at least partial processing (b) further comprises producing a feedback communication from said at least partial processing of said object'"'"'s content, and wherein said method further comprises providing said feedback communication to at least one of another server or a client of said network of servers, said feedback communication comprising information on at least one of checking performed by said first intermediary server or reliability statistics on a content server providing said object content.

57. The at least one program storage device of claim 56, wherein said method further comprises communicating said feedback communication from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers using platform for internet content selection (PICS) protocol.

58. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said partial processing (b) is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said meta information associated with said object, and wherein said method further comprises completing processing of said request for processing at multiple servers of said network of servers, said multiple servers comprising less than all servers of said network of servers.

59. The at least one program storage device of claim 58, wherein said multiple servers are within a communication path defined between a client and a content server of said network of servers, said content server providing said object content.

60. The at least one program storage device of claim 42, wherein said method further comprises caching partially processed object content at said first intermediary server and returning a cached copy of said partially processed object content in response to future requests if actual object content has remained unchanged.

51. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said method comprising:

(a) partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing (a) of said object; and

(c) wherein said method further comprises deciding at said first intermediary server whether to perform said at least partial processing (a) of said object content, said deciding comprising considering at least one of current processing load of said first server, or a number of prior requests for said object.

52. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said method comprising:

(a) partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing (a) of said object; and

(c) wherein said method further comprises determining at said first server whether to perform said partial processing (a), said determining comprising considering at least one of whether;

said object is for multicasting;

said object is to be cached at said first server;

said partial processing (a) can be performed for a user-specified price;

or said partial processing (a) can be performed within a user-specified time constraint.

54. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for processing an object having meta information associated therewith within a network of servers, said method comprising:

(a) partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

(b) modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing (a) of said object; and

(c) wherein said method further comprises applying said virus checking at said first server based on maintained reliability statistics or reliability classification of the content server providing said object content.

55. The at least one program storage device of claim 54, wherein said method further comprises the step of communicating reliability statistics or reliability classification data from said first server to a second server of said network of servers.

61. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect allowing at least one of a client and at least one intermediary server of a network of servers to initially specify said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing said object'"'"'s content at an intermediary server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing of said object by said intermediary server.

62. The article of claim 61, wherein said meta information includes a request for processing, and wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing said object content pursuant to said request for processing of said meta information associated with said object.

63. The article of claim 61, wherein said intermediary server comprises a first intermediary server of said network of servers and said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect communicating processed object content resulting from said processing and modified meta information resulting from said modifying to a second intermediary server in said network of servers.

64. The article of claim 61, wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said object content at said intermediary server pursuant to said meta information associated with said object.

65. The article of claim 61, wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect producing a feedback communication from said processing of said object'"'"'s content, and wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect providing said feedback communication to at least one of another intermediary server or a client of said network of servers.

66. The article of claim 61, wherein said object comprises executable code.

67. The article of claim 61, wherein said object comprises a compound object, said compound object having multiple objects, each object of said compound object having meta information associated therewith, and wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing content of at least one object of said compound object using said at least one object'"'"'s associated meta information, and wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said at least one object of said compound object to reflect said processing of said at least one object by said intermediary server.

84. The article of claim 61, wherein said multiple servers are within a communication path defined between a client and a content server of said network of servers, said content server providing said object content.

68. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing said object'"'"'s content at a server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing of said object; and

further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect deciding at said server whether to perform said processing of said object content, said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect deciding comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect considering at least one of current processing load of said intermediary server, or a number of prior requests for said object.

69. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing said object'"'"'s content at a server of said network of servers, said processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said processing of said object; and

further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect determining at said server whether to perform said processing, said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect determining comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect considering at least one of whether;

said object is for multicasting;

said object is to be cached at said server;

said processing can be performed for a user-specified price;

or said processing can be performed within a user-specified time constraint.

70. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing within a network of servers, processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect allowing at least one of a client and at least one intermediary server of a network of servers to initially specify said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect at least partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first intermediary server of said network of servers, said at least partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object; and

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said at least partial processing of said object.

71. The article of claim 70, further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect communicating said at least partially processed object and said modified meta information from said first intermediary server to a second intermediary server of said network of servers, and at least partially processing said object'"'"'s content at said second intermediary server of said network of servers, said at least partial processing of said object content being pursuant to said modified meta information associated with said object, and said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object at said second intermediary server to reflect said at least partial processing of said object occurring at said second intermediary server.

72. The article of claim 70, wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect proceeding with said at least partial processing pursuant to a request for processing within said associated meta information.

73. The article of claim 72, wherein said request for processing comprises a request for virus checking said object content.

74. The article of claim 70, wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect continuing processing of said object content at a second intermediary server of said network of servers and wherein said continuing processing of said object content at said second intermediary server is pursuant to a request for processing contained within said meta information associated with said object.

75. The article of claim 70, wherein said object comprises a compound object, said compound object having multiple objects, each object of said compound object having meta information associated therewith, and wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect at least partial processing comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect processing content of at least one object of said compound object using said at least one object'"'"'s associated meta information, and wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said at least one object of said compound object to reflect said at least partial processing of said at least one object of said compound object.

76. The article of claim 70, wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect allowing comprises specifying a request for processing, said request for processing comprising at least one of an acceptable return/delivery time, or an acceptable cost for return/delivery of said object.

79. The article of claim 70, wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect at least partial processing comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect virus checking said object content, and wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect maintaining at said first intermediary server based on said virus checking at least one of reliability statistics or reliability classification for a content server providing said object content.

82. The article of claim 70, wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect at least partial processing further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect producing a feedback communication from said at least partial processing of said object'"'"'s content, and wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect providing said feedback communication to at least one of another server or a client of said network of servers, said feedback communication comprising information on at least one of checking performed by said first intermediary server or reliability statistics on a content server providing said object content.

83. The article of claim 70, wherein said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect at least partial processing is responsive to a request for processing contained within said meta information associated with said object, and wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect completing processing of said request for processing at multiple servers of said network of servers, said multiple servers comprising less than all servers of said network of servers.

85. The article of claim 70, further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect caching partially processed object content at said first intermediary server and returning a cached copy of said partially processed object content in response to future requests if actual object content has remained unchanged.

77. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing within a network of servers, processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing of said object; and

further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect deciding at said first server whether to perform said at least partial processing of said object content, said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect deciding comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect considering at least one of current processing load of said first server, or a number of prior requests for said object.

78. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing within a network of servers, processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing of said object; and

further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect determining at said first server whether to perform said partial processing, said computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect determining comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect considering at least one of whether;

said object is for multicasting;

said object is to be cached at said first server;

said partial processing can be performed for a user-specified price;

or said partial processing can be performed within a user-specified time constraint.

80. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing within a network of servers, processing of an object having meta information associated therewith, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect partially processing said object'"'"'s content at a first server of said network of servers, said partial processing of object content being pursuant to said meta information associated with said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect modifying said meta information associated with said object to reflect said partial processing of said object;

computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect partial processing comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect virus checking said oblect content, and wherein said article further comprises computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect maintaining at said first server based on said virus checking at least one of reliability statistics or reliability classification for a content server providing said object content; and

further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect applying said virus checking at said first server based on maintained reliability statistics or reliability classification of the content server providing said object content.

81. The article of claim 81, further comprising computer-readable program code means for causing a computer to affect communicating reliability statistics or reliability classification data from said first server to a second server of said network of servers.