SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE DELIVERY OF WEB CONTENT USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOL BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND SPECIALIZED INTERMEDIATE NODES TO OPTIMIZE A MEASURE OF COMMUNICATIONS PERFORMANCE BETWEEN THE SOURCE AND THE DESTINATION

• US 6,820,133 B1
• Filed: 03/24/2000
• Issued: 11/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Netli, Inc. (Akamai Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tumarkin, Alexei, Kharitonov, Michael, Grove, Adam J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fang, Paul H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, QUANG N
• Application Number:
  US09/534,321
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• Field of Search: 709/105, 709/217, 709/219, 709/224, 709/238, 709/245, 370/230, 370/238, 370/338
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/10 Streamlined, light-weight or high-speed protocols, e.g. express transfer protocol [XTP] or byte stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for increasing the performance of world-wide-web traffic over the Internet. A distributed network of specialized nodes of two types is dispersed around the Internet. A web client'"'"'s requests are directed to a node of the first type chosen to be close to the client, and the client communicates with this node using a standard protocol such as HTTP. This first node receives the request, and communicates the request to a node of the second type chosen to be close to the request'"'"'s ultimate destination (e.g., a web server capable of generating a response to the request.) The first node communicates the request to the second node using a different, specialized, protocol that has been designed for improved performance and specifically to reduce traffic volume and to reduce latency. The second node receives communication from the first node using this specialized protocol, converts it back to a standard protocol such as HTTP, and forwards the request to the destination computer or server. Responses from the destination to the client take the corresponding reverse route, and also are carried over a specialized protocol between the two nodes. In addition, these nodes can employ other techniques such as web caches that avoid or improve some communication steps. Thus, specialized, proprietary, or complex protocols and techniques can be quickly deployed to enhance web performance without requiring significant changes to the clients or servers.

Claims

1. A method for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination over the Internet, comprising:

selecting a node of a first type, wherein each node of a first type comprises software to receive Internet messages using a first communication protocol and software to transmit Internet messages using a second communication protocol wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination;

selecting a node of a second type, wherein each node of a second type comprises software to receive Internet messages using the second communication protocol and software to transmit Internet messages using a third communication protocol;

communicating an Internet message from the source to the selected node of a first type using the first communication protocol;

communicating the Internet message from the selected node of a first type to the selected node of a second type using the second communication protocol; and

communicating the Internet message from the selected node of a second type to the destination using the third communication protocol,

wherein the second communication protocol is designed to be a high performance protocol, and

wherein the step of selecting a node of a first type includes optimizing one or more criteria including a measure of network closeness between the source and the node of a first type, and wherein the step of selecting a node of a second type includes optimizing one or more criteria including a measure of network closeness between the node of a second type and the destination.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting a node of a first type comprises:

determining a measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the source and a candidate node of a first type; and

selecting a node of a first type from among a plurality of candidate nodes of a first type to optimize the measure of communications performance for the sub-link between the source and the candidate node of a first type.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting a node of a second type comprises:

determining a measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the destination and a candidate node of a second type; and

selecting a node of a second type from among a plurality of candidate nodes of a second type to optimize the measure of communications performance for the sub-link between the destination and the candidate node of a second type.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting a node of a second type comprises:

determining a measure of communications performance for a sub-link between a candidate node of a first type and a candidate node of a second type; and

selecting a node of a second type from among the plurality of candidate nodes of a second type to optimize the measure of communications performance for the sub-link between the candidate node of a first type and the candidate node of a second type.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein

the step of selecting a node of a first type comprises:

determining a first measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the source and a candidate node of a first type; and

selecting a node of a first type from among the plurality of candidate nodes of a first type to optimize the first measure of communications performance; and

the step of selecting a node of a second type comprises;

determining a second measure of communications performance for a sub-link between a node of a first type and a candidate node of a second type, and a third measure of performance for a sub-link between the candidate node of a second type and the destination; and

selecting a node of a second type from among a plurality of candidate nodes of a second type to optimize a combination of the second and third measures of communications performance.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

communicating a second Internet message from the destination to the node of a second type using a fourth communication protocol;

communicating the second Internet message from the node of a second type to the node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol; and

communicating the second Internet message from the node of a first type to the source using a sixth communication protocol.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of communicating an Internet message from the source to the selected node of a first type comprises redirecting the Internet message from the source to the node of a first type.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the fourth communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the fifth communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the sixth communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the Internet message is a World-Wide Web message.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the Internet message is a World-Wide Web message.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected node of a first type is co-located with the source.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected node of a second type is co-located with the destination.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the node of a first type is software that may be co-located with the source or remotely located from the source.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the node of a second type is software that may be co-located with the destination or remotely located from the destination.

16. A method for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination over the Internet, comprising:

selecting a node of a first type, wherein each node of a first type comprises software to receive Internet messages using a first communication protocol and software to transmit Internet messages using a second communication protocol wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination;

communicating an Internet message from the source to the selected node of a first type using the first communication protocol;

communicating the Internet message from the selected node of a first type to a node of a second type using the second communication protocol, wherein the node of a second type comprises software to receive Internet messages using the second communication protocol and software to transmit Internet messages using a third communication protocol; and

communicating the Internet message from the node of a second type to the destination using the third communication protocol,

wherein the second communication protocol is designed to be a high performance protocol, and

wherein the step of selecting a node of a first type includes optimizing one or more criteria including a measure of network closeness between the source and the node of a first type.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of selecting a node of a first type comprises:

determining a measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the source and a candidate node of a first type; and

selecting a node of a first type from among a plurality of candidate nodes of a first type to optimize the measure of communications performance for the sub-link between the source and the candidate node of a first type.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of communicating an Internet message from the source to the selected node of a first type comprises redirecting the Internet message from the source to the node of a first type.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the Internet message is a World-Wide Web message.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the selected node of a first type is co-located with the source.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the node of the second type is co-located with the destination.

23. The method of claim 16 wherein the node of a first type is software that may be co-located with the source or remotely located from the source.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein the node of a second type is software that may be co-located with the destination or remotely located from the destination.

25. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

communicating a second Internet message from the destination to the node of a second type using a fourth communication protocol;

communicating the second Internet message from the node of a second type to the node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol; and

communicating the second Internet message from the node of a first type to the source using a sixth communication protocol.

26. A system for communicating an Internet message from a source to a destination over the Internet, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type;

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source wherein the first selector identifies the node of a first type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message between the source and the destination; and

a second selector to identify a node of a second type from the one or more nodes of a second type and communicate the selection to a selected node of a first type wherein the second selector identifies the node of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message between the source and the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a selected node of a second type using a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination and is designed to be a high-performance protocol; and

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol,

wherein the first selector identifies a node of a first type and the second selector identifies a node of a second type to maximize the performance gain of using the second communication protocol.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein:

the first selector identifies a node of a first type that optimizes a first measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the source and each of a plurality of candidate nodes of a first type.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein:

the second selector identifies a node of a second type that optimizes a measure of communications performance for a sub-link between a selected node of a second type and the destination.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein:

the first selector identifies a node of a first type that optimizes a measure of communications performance for at least a sub-link in a link from the source to the destination via the node of a first type and the node of a second type; and

the second selector identifies a node of a second type that optimizes a measure of communications performance for at least a sub-link in a link from the source to the destination via the node of a first type and the node of a second type.

30. The system of claim 26 wherein:

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to a selected node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol; and

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a selected node of a second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol.

31. The system of claim 26 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the fourth communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the fifth communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the sixth communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

33. The system of claim 30 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

34. The system of claim 26 wherein the Internet message is a World-Wide Web message.

35. A system for communicating an Internet message from a source to a destination over the Internet, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type; and

a selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source wherein the selector identifies the node of a first type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message between the source and the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a node of a second type using a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination and is designed to be a high-performance protocol; and

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein:

the selector identifies a node of a first type that optimizes a first measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the source and each of a plurality of candidate nodes of a first type.

37. The system of claim 35 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

38. The system of claim 35 wherein the Internet message is a World-Wide Web message.

39. A system for communicating an Internet message from a source to a destination over the Internet, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type; and

a selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source, and to identify a node of a second type from the one or more nodes of a second type and provide the selection to a selected node of a first type, wherein the selector identifies a node of a first type and a node of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a node of a second type using a second communication protocol wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination and is designed to be a high performance protocol; and

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol,

wherein the selector identifies the node of a first type and the node of a second type to maximize the performance rain of using the second communication protocol.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the selector identifies a node of a first type and a node of a second type that optimize a measure of communications performance for a sub-link between the source and the node of a first type, a sub-link between the node of a first type and the node of a second type, and a sub-link between the node of a second type and the destination.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein the selector identifies a node of a first type and a node of a second type that optimize a measure of communications performance for at least a sub-link in a link between the source and the destination.

42. The system of claim 39 wherein:

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to a selected node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol; and

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a selected node of a second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol.

43. The system of claim 39 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

44. The system of claim 42 wherein the fourth communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the fifth communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the sixth communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

45. The system of claim 42 wherein the first communication protocol is a standard communication protocol, the second communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol, and the third communication protocol is a standard communication protocol.

46. The system of claim 39 wherein the Internet message is a World-Wide Web message.

47. A system for communicating an Internet message from a source to a destination over the Internet, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type; and

a selector to identify a node of a second type from the one or more nodes of a second type and provide the selection to a node of a first type wherein the selector identifies a node of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

an interceptor to intercept the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a selected node of a second type using a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination and is designed to be a high performance protocol; and

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol.

48. A system for communicating an Internet message from a source to a destination over the Internet, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type; and

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to a redirector;

a second selector to identify a node of a second type from the one or more nodes of a second type and provide the selection to a selected node of a first type;

the first and second selectors identify nodes of a first type and nodes of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination,

the redirector to redirect the Internet message from the source to the selected node of a first type;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the redirector using a first communication protocol; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a selected node of a second type using a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication protocol is not supported by the source or the destination and is designed to be a high performance protocol; and

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol.

49. A system for communicating an Internet message from a source to a destination over the Internet, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type;

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source;

a second selector to identify a node of a second type from the one or more nodes of a second type and communicate the selection to a selected node of a first type;

the first and second selectors identify a node of a first type and a node of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a selected node of the second type using a second communication protocol;

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol;

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to a selected node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol;

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a selected node of the second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol;

the first, third, fourth, and sixth communication protocol each include use of HTTP and TCP protocol standards;

the second and fifth communication protocols each make use of a persistent transport connection between a node of the first type and a node of the second type;

each receiver includes one or more network adaptors and supporting protocol stack software;

each selected node of a first type and each selected node of the second type is a computer that includes a receiver and implementing software that includes web proxy software;

the first selector includes DNS server software that communicates the selection to the source using a DNS protocol; and

the first selector includes software to select a node of a first type based at least in part on an estimate of network distance between the source and the selected node of a first type.

50. A system for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type;

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source;

a second selector to identify a node of a second type from the one or more nodes of a second type and communicate the selection to a selected node of a first type;

the first and second selectors identify nodes of a first type and nodes of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a selected node of a second type using a second communication protocol;

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol;

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to a selected node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol;

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a selected node of a second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol;

the first, third, fourth, and sixth communication protocols each include use of HTTP and TCP protocol standards;

at least one of the second and fifth communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol;

each receiver includes one or more network adaptors and supporting protocol stack software;

each selected node of a first type and each selected node of a second type is a computer that includes a receiver and implementing software that includes proxy software;

the first selector includes DNS server software that communicates the selection to the source using a DNS protocol; and

the first selector includes software to select a node of a first type based at least in part on an estimate of network distance between the source and the selected node of a first type.

51. A system for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type;

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source wherein the first selector identifies a node of a first type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a node of a second type using a second communication protocol;

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol;

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to a selected node of the first type using a fifth communication protocol;

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a node of a second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol; and

the first selector includes DNS server software that communicates the selection to the source using a DNS protocol.

52. A system for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type;

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a node of a second type using a second communication protocol wherein the second communication protocol is designed to be a high performance protocol;

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to the destination using a third communication protocol;

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second internet message to a selected node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol;

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a node of a second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol; and

the first, third, fourth, and sixth communication protocols each include use of HTTP and TCP protocol standards,

wherein the first selector identifies the node of a first type to maximize the performance gain of using the second communication protocol.

53. A system for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination, comprising:

a plurality of nodes including one or more nodes of a first type and one or more nodes of a second type;

a first selector to identify a node of a first type from the one or more nodes of a first type and communicate the selection to the source wherein the first selector identifies a node of a first type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

wherein each node of a first type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from the source using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a node of a second type using a second communication protocol;

each node of a second type comprises;

a receiver to receive the Internet message from a selected node of a first type; and

a transmitter to communicate the Internet message to a destination using a third communication protocol;

each node of a second type further comprises a receiver to receive a second Internet message from the destination using a fourth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to a selected node of a first type using a fifth communication protocol;

each node of a first type further comprises a receiver to receive the second Internet message from a node of the second type using the fifth communication protocol, and a transmitter to communicate the second Internet message to the source using a sixth communication protocol;

the first, third, fourth, and sixth communication protocols are standardized web communication protocols;

at least one of the second and fifth communication protocols is a high-performance communication protocol;

each receiver includes one or more network adaptors and supporting protocol stack software; and

the first selector includes software to select a node of a first type based at least in part on an estimate of network distance between the source and the selected node of a first type.

54. A method for communicating between a source and a destination in a system, wherein the system comprises:

a client, the client associated with a selector;

a server;

a plurality of specialized nodes, the specialized nodes including software to understand standardized web communication protocols, the plurality of specialized nodes including at least one first specialized node and at least one second specialized node;

a plurality of nodes, wherein the plurality of nodes does not include specialized nodes;

a first communication protocol for communicating messages between at least some of the plurality of nodes, between at least one of the plurality of nodes and at least one of the plurality of specialized nodes, and between at least one of the plurality of specialized nodes and the client, wherein the first communication protocol is a widely used standardized web communication protocol;

an internode communication protocol for communicating messages between the at least one first specialized node and the at least one second specialized node, wherein the internode communication protocol is a high-performance communication protocol;

a third communication protocol for communicating messages between at least some of the plurality of nodes, between at least one of the plurality of nodes and at least one of the plurality of specialized nodes, and between at least one of the plurality of specialized nodes and the server, wherein the third communication protocol is a widely used standardized web communication protocol;

wherein the method comprises;

selecting a first specialized node using the selector wherein the selector selects a first specialized node to maximize the performance gain of using the internode protocol;

communicating a message between the client and the selected first specialized node using the first communication protocol;

communicating the message between the selected first specialized node and the at least one second specialized node using the internode communication protocol; and

communicating the message between the at least one second specialized node and the server using the third communication protocol.

55. The method and system of claim 54, wherein the system further comprises:

a second selector associated with the at least one first specialized node;

and wherein the method further comprises;

selecting at least one of the plurality of second specialized nodes using the second selector.

56. The method and system of claim 54, wherein the selector utilizes DNS.

57. The method and system of claim 54, wherein the selector utilizes HTTP redirection.

58. A method comprising:

deploying a plurality of first specialized nodes, each of the plurality of first specialized nodes including software to receive and transmit messages conforming to a first communication protocol, the first communication protocol being a standardized web communication protocol, and software to receive and transmit messages conforming to a high-performance communication protocol;

deploying a plurality of second specialized nodes, each of the plurality of second specialized nodes including software to receive and transmit messages conforming to the high-performance communication protocol, and software to receive and transmit messages conforming to a third communication protocol, the third protocol being a standardized web communication protocol;

operating a selector for selecting one of the plurality of first specialized nodes;

providing for communicating messages between a source and the selected first specialized node using the first communication protocol;

providing for communicating messages between the selected first specialized node and one of the second specialized nodes using the high-performance communication protocol; and

providing for communicating messages between one of the selected second specialized nodes and a destination using the third communication protocol.

59. A method for communicating between a source and a destination in a system, the system comprising:

a plurality of first specialized nodes, each of the plurality of first specialized nodes including software to receive and transmit messages conforming to a first communication protocol, the first communication protocol being a standardized web communication protocol, and software to receive and transmit messages conforming to a high-performance communication protocol; and

a plurality of second specialized nodes, each of the plurality of second specialized nodes including software to receive and transmit messages conforming to the high-performance communication protocol, and software to receive and transmit messages conforming to a third communication protocol, the third protocol being a standardized web communication protocol;

wherein the method comprises;

selecting one of the plurality of first specialized nodes wherein the selecting of a first specialized node includes selecting a first specialized node to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message from the source to the destination;

communicating a message between the source and the selected first specialized node using the first communication protocol;

selecting one of the plurality of second specialized nodes;

communicating the message between the selected first specialized node and the selected second specialized node using the high-performance communication protocol; and

communicating the message between the selected second specialized node and the destination using the third communication protocol.

60. The method and system of claim 59, wherein

the step of selecting one of the plurality of first specialized nodes includes selecting one of the plurality of first specialized nodes to optimize a measure of communications performance between the source and the selected first specialized node.

61. The method and system of claim 59, wherein

the step of selecting one of the plurality of second specialized nodes includes selecting one of the plurality of second specialized nodes to optimize a measure of communication performance between the selected first specialized node and the selected second specialized node.

62. A method comprising:

selecting a node of a first type from one or more nodes of a first type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message between the source and the destination, wherein the selected node of a first type is close to the source;

selecting a node of a second type from one or more nodes of a second type to increase the performance of communicating the Internet message between the source and the destination, wherein the selected node of a second type is close to the destination;

communicating an Internet message from the source to the selected node of a first type using a first communication protocol;

communicating the Internet message from the selected node of a first type to the selected node of a second type using a second communication protocol that is designed to be a high-performance protocol; and

communicating the Internet message from the selected node of a second type to the destination using a third communication protocol.

63. A method for communicating an Internet message between a source and a destination comprising:

selecting a first specialized node from one or more first specialized nodes to minimize the distance between the source and the selected first specialized node;

selecting a second specialized node from one or more second specialized nodes to minimize the distance between the selected second specialized node and the destination;

communicating an Internet message from the source to the selected first specialized node using a first communication protocol;

communicating the Internet message from the selected first specialized node to the selected second specialized node using a second communication protocol that is designed to be of higher performance than a prevailing standard communication protocol; and

communicating the Internet message from the selected second specialized node to the destination using a third communication protocol.