Internet system and method for selecting a closest server from a plurality of alternative servers

• US 6,304,913 B1
• Filed: 11/09/1998
• Issued: 10/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Rune, Johan
• Primary Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US09/189,100
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 712/27, 709/200, 709/203, 709/219, 709/238, 709/240, 709/241, 709/242, 709/243, 709/245, 709/244
• US Class Current: 709/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]

Abstract

A method and Internet system is provided that attempts to improve response times by automatically selecting for use a server (e.g., mirror server or alternative server) located relatively close to a requesting host. Alternatively, the method and Internet system can automatically select for use a server (e.g., alternative server) that is relatively appropriate for the requesting host. More specifically, the Internet system can operate to select the closest server or the most appropriate server from a plurality of servers providing the same service (e.g., mirror servers) or slightly adapted variants of the same service (e.g., alternative servers) each assigned a common host name and a unique Internet Protocol address. The Internet system includes a database (e.g., Domain Name System (DNS) server) for storing the common host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses. The Internet system also includes a requesting host for transmitting a translation request containing the common host name to the database. In response to the translation request, a system (e.g., requesting host, router, dedicated server, or DNS server) operates to select the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to either the closest server (e.g., mirror server or alternative server) which is located the nearest to the requesting host or the server that is the most appropriate for the requesting host (e.g., mirror server or alternative server).

Claims

1. A method for selecting a closest server from a plurality of servers, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a host name to the plurality of servers;

assigning a unique address to each of the plurality of servers;

storing the host name and the plurality of unique addresses in a database;

transmitting from a requesting host to the database a translation request including the host name of the plurality of servers; and

selecting, responsive to the translation request, the unique address assigned to the closest server located the nearest to the requesting host comprising the steps of;

transmitting a second request including the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses from at least one of the requesting host and Domain Name System server to at least one of a router and a dedicated server; and

determining, responsive to the second request, a hop count for each unique Internet Protocol address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of sending a packet from the requesting host to the closest server utilizing the selected unique address of the closest server.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing the selected unique address of the closest server for a predetermined amount of time.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of storing the remaining unique addresses for use when the closest server fails to respond to the requesting host.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of storing the remaining unique addresses further includes ordering the remaining unique addresses based on how close the remaining servers are located to the requesting host.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of transmitting a translation request further includes bypassing another database to reach the database when said another database fails to recognize the host name transmitted within the translation request.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of servers further includes a plurality of an mirror servers or a plurality of alternative servers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said hop count is indicative of a number of routers a packet from the requesting host would have to traverse to reach a corresponding one of the plurality of servers.

9. A method for selecting a most appropriate server from a plurality of servers, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a host name to the plurality of servers;

assigning a unique Internet Protocol address to each of the plurality of servers;

storing the host name and the plurality of unique addresses in a database;

transmitting from a requesting host to the database a translation request including the host name of the plurality of servers; and

selecting, responsive to the translation request, the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the server that is the most appropriate for the requesting host, said step of selecting comprising the steps of;

receiving, responsive to the first request, the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions, said requesting host receives the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions from the Domain Name System server; and

determining the selected unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server using predefined instructions and a host name of the requesting host, said predefined instructions indicate the selected unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server based on a class of the host name of the requesting host.

10. A method for establishing Internet Protocol communication from a requesting host to a closest server selected from a plurality of servers, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a common host name and a unique Internet Protocol address to each server;

storing the common host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses in a Domain Name System server;

transmitting a first request including the common host name from a requesting host to the Domain Name System server;

selecting, responsive to the first request, the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the closest server located the nearest to the requesting host comprising the steps of;

transmitting a second request including the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses from at least one of the requesting host and the Domain Name System server to at least one of a router and a dedicated server; and

determining, responsive to the second request, a hop count for each unique Internet Protocol address; and

sending an Internet Protocol packet from the requesting host to the closest server utilizing the selected unique Internet Protocol address.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the closest server further includes, before said step of transmitting a second request, the step of:

receiving, responsive to the first request, the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses, said requesting host receives the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses from the Domain Name System server;

receiving, following said step of determining, at least one of the unique Internet Protocol address of the closest server and each hop count and each unique Internet Protocol address at the requesting host; and

selecting the unique Internet Protocol address of the closest server associated with the smallest hop count, wherein each hop count indicates a number of routers the Internet Protocol packet from the requesting host would have to traverse to reach a corresponding one of the plurality of servers.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the closest server further includes the steps of:

receiving at least one of the unique Internet Protocol address of the closest server and each hop count and each unique Internet Protocol address at the Domain Name System server; and

selecting within the Domain Name System server and transmitting to the requesting host the unique Internet Protocol address of the closest server having the smallest hop count, wherein said requesting host and Domain Name System server are attached to a common network.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein said plurality of servers further includes a plurality of mirror servers or a plurality of alternative servers.

14. A method for establishing Internet Protocol communication from a requesting host to a most appropriate server selected from a plurality of servers, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a common host name and a unique Internet Protocol address to each server;

storing the common host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses in a Domain Name System server;

transmitting a first request including the common host name from a requesting host to the Domain Name System server;

selecting, responsive to the first request, the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the server that is the most appropriate for the requesting host; and

sending an Internet Protocol packet from the requesting host to the most appropriate server utilizing the selected unique Internet Protocol address, wherein said step of selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the most appropriate server further includes the steps of;

receiving, responsive to the first request, the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions, said requesting host receives the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions from the Domain Name System server; and

determining and selecting the unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server using the predefined instructions and a host name of the requesting host, said predefined instructions indicate the unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server based on a class of the host name of the requesting host.

15. An Internet system for selecting a closest server from a plurality of servers which are each assigned an identical host name and a unique Internet Protocol addresses, said Internet system comprising:

a database for storing the identical host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses;

a requester coupled to the database for transmitting to the database a translation request including the identical host name; and

a selector coupled to the database, responsive to the translation request, for selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the closest server located the nearest to the requesting host, wherein said selector further includes;

a second requester for transmitting to at least one of a router and a dedicated server a second request including the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses; and

a counter for determining a hop count for each Internet Protocol address in response to the second request.

16. The Internet system of claim 15, wherein said requesting host further includes means for sending a packet to the closest server utilizing the selected unique Internet Protocol address.

17. The Internet system of claim 15, wherein a selected one of said requesting host and said selecting means further includes means for storing the selected unique Internet Protocol address of the closest server for a predetermined amount of time.

18. The Internet system of claim 15, wherein a selected one of said requesting host and said selecting means further includes means for storing the remaining unique Internet Protocol addresses for use when the closest server fails to respond to the requesting host.

19. The Internet system of claim 18, wherein said means for storing the remaining unique Internet Protocol addresses further includes means for ordering the remaining unique Internet Protocol addresses based on how close the remaining servers are located to the requesting host.

20. The Internet system of claim 15, wherein said plurality of servers further includes a plurality of mirror servers or a plurality of alternative servers.

21. The Internet system of claim 15, wherein said selecting means further includes means for determining the selected unique Internet Protocol address based on a smallest of the hop counts indicative of a least number of routers a packet from the requesting host would have to traverse to reach the closest server.

22. An Internet system for selecting a most appropriate server from a plurality of servers which are each assigned an identical host name and a unique Internet Protocol addresses, said Internet system comprising:

a database for storing the identical host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses;

a requester coupled to the database for transmitting to the database a translation request including the identical host name; and

a selector coupled to the database, responsive to the translation request, for selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to the server that is the most appropriate for the requesting host, wherein said selecting means further includes;

means for receiving the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions from the Domain Name System server; and

means for determining the selected unique Internet Protocol address using the predefined instructions and a host name of the requesting host;

said predefined instructions indicate the selected unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server based on a class of the host name of the requesting host.

23. An Internet system for selecting a server over another server, each server is assigned an identical host name and a unique Internet Protocol addresses, said Internet system comprising:

a database for storing the identical host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses;

a requester coupled to the database for transmitting to the database a translation request including the identical host name; and

a selector coupled to the database, responsive to the translation request, for selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to either the server or the another server based on which of the servers is located nearer to the requester, wherein said selector further includes;

a second requester for transmitting to at least one of a router and a dedicated server a second request including the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses;

a counter for determining a hop count for each Internet Protocol address in response to the second request.

24. A method for selecting a server over another server, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a common host name to said server and said another server;

assigning a unique address to said server and said another server;

storing the common host name and the plurality of unique addresses in a database;

transmitting from a requester to the database a translation request including the common host name of the server and the another servers; and

selecting, responsive to the translation request, the unique address assigned to either the server or the another server based on which of the servers is located nearer to the requester comprising the steps of;

transmitting a second request including the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses from at least one of the requesting host and Domain Name System server to at least one of a router and a dedicated server; and

determining, responsive to the second request, a hop count for each unique Internet Protocol address.

25. An Internet system for selecting a server over another server, each server is assigned an identical host name and a unique Internet Protocol addresses, said Internet system comprising:

a database for storing the identical host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses;

a requester coupled to the database for transmitting to the database a translation request including the identical host name; and

a selector coupled to the database, responsive to the translation request, for selecting the unique Internet Protocol address assigned to either the server or the another server based on which of the servers is more appropriate for the requester, wherein said selector further includes;

means for receiving the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions from a Domain Name System server; and

means for determining the selected unique Internet Protocol address using the predefined instructions and a host name of the requesting host;

said predefined instructions indicate the selected unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server based on a class of the host name of the requesting host.

26. A method for selecting a server over another server, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a common host name to said server and said another server;

assigning a unique address to said server and said another server;

storing the common host name and the plurality of unique addresses in a database;

transmitting from a requester to the database a translation request including the common host name of the server and the another servers; and

selecting, responsive to the translation request, the unique address assigned to either the server or the another server based on which of the servers is more appropriate for the requester comprising the steps of;

means for receiving the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses and predefined instructions from a Domain Name System server; and

means for determining the selected unique Internet Protocol address using the predefined instructions and a host name of the requesting host;

said predefined instructions indicate the selected unique Internet Protocol address of the most appropriate server based on a class of the host name of the requesting host.

27. A method for establishing Internet Protocol communication from a requesting host to a closest server selected from a plurality of servers, said method comprising the steps of:

assigning a common host name and a unique Internet Protocol address to each server;

storing the common host name and the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses in a Domain Name System server;

transmitting a first request including the common host name from a requesting host to the Domain Name System server;

receiving, responsive to the first request, the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses, said requesting host receives the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses from the Domain Name System server;

transmitting an Internet Protocol packet including the plurality of unique Internet Protocol addresses from the requesting host to a router;

determining, in response to receiving the Internet Protocol packet, the unique Internet Protocol address of the closest server having a hop count indicating a smallest number of routers the Internet Protocol packet transmitted from the requesting host would have to traverse to reach the closest server;

selecting, at the router, said Internet Protocol address of the closest server;

stripping the remaining unique Internet Protocol addresses from the Internet Protocol packet; and

forwarding the Internet Protocol packet from the router to the closest server utilizing the selected unique Internet protocol address.