Method and apparatus for URL forwarding

• US 7,089,325 B1
• Filed: 07/05/2000
• Issued: 08/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Web.com Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Register.com Incorporated (Web.com Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Burstein, Adam D., Murtza, Shamoun, Cohen, Daniel Hillel
• Primary Examiner(s): Revak, Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAFORGIA, CHRISTIAN A
• Application Number:
  US09/610,580
• Time in Patent Office: 2,225 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/203, 709/218, 709/219, 709/226, 709/228, 709/245, 709/224, 709/242, 709/217, 709/227, 370/352
• US Class Current: 709/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams

Abstract

A domain name is associated with the IP address of a first, URL forwarding web server within the domain name system (DNS) so that a request for a website or other resource associated with the domain name is presented to the URL forwarding web server. The URL forwarding web server accesses a file stored on a file server and determining from the contents of the file the IP address to which the domain name should resolve. The file associated with that domain name may contain information that initiates display of static or dynamic content from the URL forwarding web server. Alternately, the file may contain instructions to associate the requested domain name with the IP address of a second, destination web server that has the requested content or resource. Most preferably, the URL forwarding web server performs this access to the file server directly, without executing a script or other interface program supplementary to the URL forwarding web server. For example, the URL forwarding web server may include a module that receives a domain name, accesses the file from the file server and evaluates the contents of the file. When the file includes an IP address to which the domain name should resolve, preferred implementations of the module recognize the presence of the IP address within the file and return the IP address of the destination web server to the browser through which the user made the request.

Claims

1. A URL processing system, comprising:

a first URL forwarding web server adapted to receive requests for first and second URLs and return first and second messages responsive to the first and second URL requests, the first and second URL requests each resolving to a first IP address of the first web server according to a domain name system;

a file server accessible by the first URL forwarding web server, the file server adapted to store a plurality of files corresponding to a plurality of URLs, each of the plurality of files storing URL forwarding information for each corresponding URL, the URL forwarding information associating the plurality of URLs with a plurality of IP addresses so that the file server returns destination IP addresses different from IP addresses to which each corresponding URL resolves according to the domain name system, the file server respectively selecting first and second files from the plurality of files in response to the first URL forwarding web server receiving the first and second URL requests, the first file storing a first destination IP address of a first destination server and the second file storing a second destination IP address of a second destination server, the first URL forwarding web server returning the first destination IP address as at least a part of the first message in response to the first URL request and returning the second destination IP address as at least a part of the second message in response to the second URL request, responses to the first and second URL requests respectively served from the first and second destination servers; and

a second web server associated with the file server, the second web server adapted to receive a request to alter the first destination IP address within the first file to a third destination IP address for a third destination server different from the first destination server, the first and the third destination IP addresses different from the IP address to which the first URL resolves according to the domain name system, so that the first URL forwarding web server returns the third destination IP address in response to the first URL request after the request to alter is completed wherein the request to alter is provided through a domain management interface having a process for authenticating a user'"'"'s right to alter contents of the first file.

2. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein a domain name server within the domain name system associates the first URL with the first IP address for the first URL forwarding web server after the request to alter is completed.

3. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the file server stores the plurality of files in a directory format organized according to names of the plurality of files, the names comprising URL data identifying the URLs designated for URL forwarding.

4. The URL processing system of claim 3, wherein the URL data comprise domain names and the directory organizes the plurality of files according to alphabetic ordering of the domain names.

5. The URL processing system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of files are stored in a common file space of an array of hard disks.

6. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the first file includes advertising information specifying whether advertising is to be added to the response to the first URL request, the first URL forwarding web server causing advertising to be added to the response to the first URL request according to the advertising information.

7. The URL processing system of claim 6, wherein the advertising is provided in a frame of a framed web page.

8. The URL processing system of claim 6, wherein advertising is selectively added or not added according to the advertising information.

9. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the first destination server returns the response to the first URL request without advertising in response to information in the first file.

10. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the domain management interface generates a display within a browser through which a user initiates URL forwarding for a URL in a process including validation of a user'"'"'s credit card.

11. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the domain management interface interacts with a browser having an active domain name designated in the browser, wherein URL forwarding for the active domain name is selected through a hyperlink.

12. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the second web server is a registrar web server.

13. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein when the second web server alters the first destination IP address within the first file no message is communicated to the domain name system.

14. The URL processing system of claim 13, wherein the first file includes advertising information specifying whether advertising is to be added to the response to the first URL request, the first destination server adding advertising to the response according to the advertising information.

15. The URL processing system of claim 13, wherein the domain management interface interacts with a browser having an active domain name designated in the browser, wherein URL forwarding to the first destination server is selected for the active domain name through a hyperlink.

16. The URL processing system of claim 13, wherein the second web server is a registrar web server.

17. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the response to the first URL request is a web page stored on the first destination server.

18. The URL processing system of claim 17, wherein the first file includes advertising information specifying whether advertising is to be added to a response to the first URL request, the first destination server adding advertising to the response according to the advertising information.

19. The URL processing system of claim 18, wherein the domain management interface interacts with a browser having an active domain name designated in the browser, wherein URL forwarding is selected through a hyperlink.

20. The URL processing system of claim 19, wherein the second web server is a registrar web server.

21. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the files stored in the file server are addressed by individual ones of the plurality of URLs and wherein the domain name system identifies the first IP address of the first URL forwarding web server for each of the plurality of URLs stored in the file server.

22. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein a third file of the plurality of files is identified by a third URL in a third URL request and contains a fourth destination IP address of a fourth destination server, the first URL forwarding web server returning the fourth destination IP address as part of a message responsive to the third URL request, and wherein the domain name system identifies the first IP address of the first server for the third URL.

23. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the first URL request seeks content designated by the first URL and the first file identifies the first destination server as hosting the content sought by the first URL request.

24. The URL processing system of claim 1, wherein the first message responsive to the first URL request causes display of content from the first destination server on a client machine.

25. The URL processing system of claim 24, wherein the domain management interface operates with a browser and receives an indication of an active domain name designated by a user within the browser, wherein the domain management interface initiates a URL forwarding setup process in response to a user selecting URL forwarding through a hyperlink and wherein the domain management initiates a URL forwarding modification process to alter the first destination IP address in response to user input through the browser.