System and method for managing connections between clients and a server with independent connection and data buffers

• US 6,308,238 B1
• Filed: 11/12/1999
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Akamba Corp.
• Original Assignee: Akamba Corp.
• Inventors: Smith, Jack J., Weatherford, William T., MacDonell, Eoin B., Burright, Richard T., Worley, W. Spencer III, Vastano, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHUSTER, KATHARINA W
• Application Number:
  US09/440,016
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/227, 709/203, 709/219, 709/229, 709/221, 709/224, 709/247, 710/129, 710/128, 370/434, 370/401, 345/355, 345/329, 713/201, 455/448
• US Class Current: 710/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/18 End to end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/722 at the destination endpoint, e.g. reservation of terminal resources or buffer space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/901 using storage descriptor, e.g. read or write pointers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An adapter card for managing connections between clients and a network server off-loads the connection management burden from the server. The adapter card includes a memory with an embedded proxy application and a communication protocol stack, a processing unit for executing the application code, a network controller for interfacing with an internetwork, and a bus protocol bridge for interfacing with the internal bus of the network server. The proxy application receives client requests on behalf of the server over relatively slow and unreliable network connections, and submits the requests to the server over fast, reliable bus connections. Buffers are allocated to a particular client connection only after it is determined that data will be exchanged between the server and the client.

Claims

1. In an interface device operatively coupled to an internal bus of an origin server, a method for managing connections between at least one client and said origin server, via said interface device, said method comprising:

establishing a network connection with one of said clients via a network;

receiving a communication from said client via said network connection;

determining whether said communication includes a data request;

allocating an input buffer to said client connection if said communication includes a data request;

storing said data request in said allocated buffer space;

establishing a bus connection with said origin server via an internal bus of said server; and

forwarding said data request to said origin server via said bus connection.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of establishing a bus connection with said server includes allocating an output buffer to store said server'"'"'s response to said data request when received.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said step of forwarding said data request to said server includes releasing said input buffer.

4. A method according to claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a response to said data request from said server; and

storing said data request in said output buffer.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein said step of storing said response in said output buffer comprises:

determining whether said output buffer is full; and

if said output buffer is full, allocating additional buffer space to said output buffer.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said step of allocating additional buffer space to said output buffer includes linking said output buffer to at least one other buffer from a pool of available buffers.

7. A method according to claim 6, further comprising:

forwarding said server response to said client via said network connection; and

releasing each said linked buffer as it is emptied.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein said step of allocating additional buffer space to said output buffer is repeated until the entire server response is received and stored.

9. A method according to claim 4, further comprising:

forwarding said server response to said client via said network connection; and

releasing said output buffer.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

said step of allocating an input buffer includes determining whether an input buffer has been previously allocated to the client connection; and

if an input buffer has been previously allocated, not allocating another input buffer.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein step of storing said data request in said allocated input buffer includes:

determining whether said input buffer is full; and

if said input buffer is full, allocating additional buffer space to said input buffer.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said step of allocating additional buffer space to said input buffer is repeated until the entire data request is received and stored.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein said step of allocating additional buffer space to said input buffer includes linking said input buffer to at least one other buffer from a pool of available buffers.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein said step of forwarding said data request to said server includes releasing each of said linked buffers as they are emptied.

22. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 1.

23. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 2.

24. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 3.

25. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 4.

26. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 5.

27. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 6.

28. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 7.

29. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 8.

30. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 9.

31. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 10.

32. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 11.

33. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 12.

34. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 13.

35. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 14.

15. In an interface device operatively coupled to an internal bus of an origin server, a method for managing connections between at least one client and said origin server, via said interface device, said method comprising:

establishing a network connection with one of said clients via a network;

receiving a communication from said client via said network connection;

determining whether a complete data request has been received from said client;

allocating an output buffer to store a response from said origin server, only after a complete data request has been received;

establishing a bus connection with said origin server via said internal bus of said origin server; and

forwarding said data request to said origin server via said bus connection.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a response to said data request from said server; and

storing said data request in said output buffer.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein said step of storing said response in said output buffer comprises:

determining whether said output buffer is full; and

if said output buffer is full, allocating additional buffer space to said output buffer.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein said step of allocating additional buffer space to said output buffer includes linking said output buffer to at least one other buffer from a pool of available buffers.

19. A method according to claim 18, further comprising:

forwarding said server response to said client via said network connection; and

releasing each said linked buffer as it is emptied.

20. A method according to claim 17, wherein said step of allocating additional buffer space to said output buffer is repeated until the entire server response is received and stored.

21. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

forwarding said server response to said client via said network connection; and

releasing said output buffer.

36. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 15.

37. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 16.

38. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 17.

39. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 18.

40. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 19.

41. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 20.

42. A computer readable medium having code embodied therein for causing an electronic device to perform the steps of claim 21.

43. An adapter card for operatively coupling to an internal bus of an origin server for managing origin server communication with a network, said adapter card comprising:

a network controller for communicating with clients on said network;

a memory device for storing data and code, said memory device including a plurality of buffers, and said code including a reverse proxy application responsive to communications from said clients and operative to allocate an input buffer to a client connection only if a communication received via said client connection includes a data request;

a processing unit coupled to said memory device for executing said code; and

a protocol adapter coupled to said processing unit, and adapted to couple to said internal bus, for communicating with said origin server.

44. An adapter card according to claim 43, wherein said proxy application is further operative to allocate an output buffer to said client connection only after receiving a complete data request via said client connection, said output buffer for storing a response to said data request from said server.

45. An adapter card according to claim 44, wherein said proxy application is further operative to forward said complete data request to said server, and to release said input buffer thereafter.

46. An adapter card according to claim 45, wherein said proxy application, responsive to receipt of a response to said data request from said server, is further operative to:

store said response in said output buffer;

forward said response to a client via said client connection; and

release said output buffer after said response has been forwarded to said client.

47. An adapter card according to claim 44, wherein each of said plurality of buffers is available to said proxy application for use as said input or said output buffer.

48. An adapter card according to claim 43, wherein said proxy application is further operative to forward said data request to said server, and to release said input buffer thereafter.

49. An adapter card for operatively coupling to an internal bus of an origin server for managing origin server communication with a network, said adapter card comprising:

a network controller for communicating with clients on said network;

a memory device for storing data and code, said memory device including a plurality of buffers, and said code including a reverse proxy application responsive to communications from said clients and operative to allocate an output buffer to a client connection only after a complete data request is received via said client connection;

a processing unit coupled to said memory device for executing said code; and

a protocol adapter coupled to said processing unit, and adapted to couple to said internal bus, for communicating with said origin server.

50. An adapter card according to claim 49, wherein said proxy application, responsive to receipt of a response to said data request from said server, is further operative to:

store said response in said output buffer;

forward said response to a client via said client connection; and

release said output buffer after said response has been forwarded to said client.