Enabling a home network reverse web server proxy

• US 6,665,721 B1
• Filed: 04/06/2000
• Issued: 12/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hind, John R., Topol, Brad B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU HA T
• Application Number:
  US09/544,591
• Time in Patent Office: 1,349 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/219, 709/225, 709/227, 709/243, 705/52, 707/10, 707/513, 370/252
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2895 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data provider application, e.g. reverse proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A computer network, method, apparatus or program product utilizing a local web server, a reverse proxy and an internet hosting web server to allow one or more remote users to access information on the local web server by accessing a proxy servlet residing at the internet hosting web server, wherein the reverse proxy initiates a connection with the proxy servlet. The proxy servlet intercepts all of the communications from one or more remote users and routes the communication to the local web server. The reverse proxy then routes the response to the request to the proxy servlet.

Claims

1. A computer network comprising:

a local web server;

a reverse proxy connected to the local web server by first network connecting means;

an internet hosting web server having a proxy servlet and being connected to the reverse proxy by second network connecting means; and

one or more remote users, wherein said one or more remote users are able to access information on said local web server by accessing, by third network connecting means, said proxy servlet residing at said internet hosting web server, wherein said reverse proxy initiates a connection with said proxy servlet by sending a request to the proxy servlet, said proxy servlet intercepts requests sent from said one or more remote users and routes each intercepted request to the local web server by way of the reverse proxy (as a response to the request sent by the reverse proxy), wherein the reverse proxy then forwards the intercepted request to the local web server, and said reverse proxy routes to the proxy servlet via the internet hosting web server, the local web server'"'"'s response to the forwarded request by sending a new request to the proxy servlet (to which the proxy servlet can respond with another one of the intercepted request), and the proxy servlet then forwards the local web server'"'"'s response to the remote user whose request was intercepted.

2. The computer network as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reverse proxy initiates said connection with said proxy servlet using an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) protocol, the response with which said proxy servlet routes each intercepted request to said local web server by way of said reverse proxy is an HTTP response, and the new request with which said reverse proxy routes the local web server'"'"'s response to the proxy servlet is a new HTTP request.

3. The computer network as claimed in claim 1, wherein multi-part MIME encoding is used to provide both a control channel and an application data channel between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet.

4. The computer network as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control channel is represented by an extensible markup language document that allows end-station HTTP headers to be exchanged between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy and allows negotiation of channel handling characteristics between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy.

5. The computer network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internet hosting web server provides virtual hosting support which allows the local web server to be viewed by the remote users with it'"'"'s own host and domain name.

6. The computer network as claimed in claim 2, wherein multiple outstanding HTTP requests between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet exist to allow overlapped end station operations in which cookies or other HTTP header annotations are used to relate outstanding remote-user requests flowing from the proxy servlet to the reverse proxy as HTTP responses to a corresponding one of the local web server'"'"'s responses flowing from the reverse proxy to the proxy servlet as HTTP requests.

7. A system comprising:

a local web server;

a reverse proxy connected to the local web server by first network connecting means;

an internet hosting web server having a proxy servlet and being connected to the reverse proxy by second network connecting means; and

one or more remote users, wherein the remote users are able to access information on said local web server by accessing, by third network connecting means, said proxy servlet residing at said internet hosting web server, wherein said reverse proxy initiates a connection with said proxy servlet by sending a request to the proxy servlet, said proxy servlet intercepts requests sent from said one or more remote users and routes each intercepted request to the local web server by way of the reverse proxy (as a response to the request sent by the reverse proxy), wherein the reverse proxy then forwards the intercepted request to the local web server, and said reverse proxy routes, to the proxy servlet via the internet hosting web server, the local web server'"'"'s response to the forwarded request by sending a new request to the proxy servlet (to which the proxy servlet can response with another one of the intercepted request), and the proxy servlet then forwards the local web server'"'"'s response to the remote user whose request was intercepted.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said reverse proxy initiates said connection with said proxy servlet using an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) protocol, the response with which said proxy servlet routes each intercepted request to said local web server by way of said reverse proxy is an HTTP response, and the new request with which said reverse proxy routes the local web server'"'"'s response to the proxy servlet is a new HTTP request.

9. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein multi-part MIME encoding is used to provide both a control channel and an application data channel between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet.

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control channel is represented by an extensible markup language document that allows end-station HTTP headers to be exchanged between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy and allows negotiation of channel handling characteristics between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy.

11. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the internet hosting web server provides virtual hosting support which allows the local web server to be viewed by the remote users with it'"'"'s own host and domain name.

12. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein multiple outstanding HTTP requests between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet exist to allow overlapped end station operations in which cookies or other HTTP header annotations are used to relate outstanding remote-user requests flowing from the proxy servlet to the reverse proxy as HTTP responses to a corresponding one of the local web server'"'"'s responses flowing from the reverse proxy to the proxy servlet as HTTP requests.

13. A method for enabling one or more remote users to access information on a local web server by accessing a proxy servlet residing at an internet hosting web server, wherein a reverse proxy initiates a connection with the proxy servlet by sending a request to the proxy servlet, the proxy servlet intercepts requests sent from the one or more remote users and routes each intercepted request to the local web server by way of the reverse proxy (as a response to the request sent by the reverse proxy), wherein the reverse proxy then forwards the intercepted request to the local web server, and the reverse proxy routes, to the proxy servlet, the local web server'"'"'s response to the forwarded request by sending a new request to the proxy servlet (to which the proxy servlet can respond with another one of the intercepted requests), and the proxy servlet then forwards the local web server'"'"'s response to the remote user whose request was intercepted.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the reverse proxy initiates the connection with the proxy servlet using an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) protocol, the response with which the proxy servlet routes each intercepted request to the local web server by way of the reverse proxy is an HTTP response, and the new request with which the reverse proxy routes the local web server'"'"'s response to the request to the proxy servlet is a new HTTP request.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein multi-part MIME encoding is used to provide both a control channel and an application data channel between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the control channel is represented by an extensible markup language document that allows end-station HTTP headers to be exchanged between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy and allows negotiation of channel handling characteristics between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the internet hosting web server provides virtual hosting support which allows the local web server to be viewed by the remote users with it'"'"'s own host and domain name.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein multiple outstanding HTTP requests between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet exist to allow overlapped end station operations in which cookies or other HTTP header annotations are used to relate outstanding remote-user requests flowing from the proxy servlet to the reverse proxy as HTTP responses to a corresponding one of the local web server'"'"'s responses flowing from the reverse proxy to the proxy servlet as HTTP requests.

19. A computer program product for enabling one or more remote users to access information on a local web server by way of a reverse proxy and an internet hosting web server, said computer program product embodied on computer readable media and comprising:

computer readable code means for initiating a connection, by the reverse proxy, with the proxy servlet, by sending a request to a proxy servlet residing at the internet hosting web server;

computer readable code means for intercepting, by the proxy servlet, requests sent from the one or more remote users;

computer readable code means for routing each intercepted request, by the proxy servlet, to the local web server by way of the reverse proxy (as a response to the request sent by the reverse proxy), whereby the reverse proxy then forwards the intercepted request to the local web server;

computer readable code means for routing, to the proxy servlet by the reverse proxy, the local web server'"'"'s response to the forwarded request by sending a new request to the proxy servlet (to which the proxy servlet can respond with another one of the intercepted request); and

computer readable code means for forwarding the local web server'"'"'s response from the proxy servlet to the remote user whose request was intercepted.

20. The computer program product as claimed in claim 19, wherein the connection initiated by the reverse proxy uses

an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) protocol, the response with which the proxy servlet routes each of the intercepted requests to the;

local web server by way of said reverse proxy is an HTTP response, and the new request with which the;

reverse proxy, routes the local web server'"'"'s response to the proxy servlet is a new HTTP request.

21. The computer program product as claimed in claim 19, wherein multi-part MIME encoding is used to provide both a control channel and an application data channel between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet.

22. The computer program product as claimed in claim 21, wherein the control channel is represented by an extensible markup language document that allows end-station HTTP headers to be exchanged between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy and allows negotiation of channel handling characteristics between the proxy servlet and the reverse proxy.

23. The computer program product as claimed in claim 19, wherein the internet hosting web server provides virtual hosting support which allows the local web server to be viewed by the remote users with it'"'"'s own host and domain name.

24. The computer program product as claimed in claim 20, wherein multiple outstanding HTTP requests between the reverse proxy and the proxy servlet exist to allow overlapped end station operations in which cookies or other HITP header annotations are used to relate outstanding remote-user requests flowing from the proxy servlet to the reverse proxy as HTTP responses to a corresponding one of the local web server'"'"'s responses flowing from the reverse proxy to the proxy servlet as HTTP requests.