Proxy client-server communication system

• US 7,103,671 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2002
• Issued: 09/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nazem, Farzad, Wright, Robert Alan, Quiggle, Thomas James
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Application Number:
  US10/100,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20030177233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,636 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/225, 709/227, 709/229, 709/231, 709/241, 709/102, 709/203, 709/217, 709/226, 709/202, 709/228, 709/249, 370/400, 370/230, 370/238, 370/235, 370/356, 718/104, 707/4, 713/201, 715/767
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport

Abstract

A communication system includes a browser system coupled to a communication network. A first server system is coupled to the communication network and has a plurality of first processes and a first proxy group. The first proxy group has a first shared memory and a first proxy. The first shared memory has a plurality of first slots, each first slot being assigned to one of the plurality of first processes and configured to store data transmitted by or to be received by the assigned first process. The first server system further includes a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device to regulate the data flow of the first proxy group. A second server system is coupled to the communication network and has a plurality of second processes and a second proxy group. The second proxy group has a second shared memory and a second proxy, wherein the first proxy and the second proxy are configured to form a communication link with the other.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a browser system coupled to a communication network;

a first server system coupled to the communication network and having a plurality of first processes and a first proxy group, the first proxy group having a first shared memory and a first proxy, the first shared memory having a plurality of first slots, each first slot being assigned to one of the plurality of first processes and configured to store data transmitted by or to be received by the assigned first process, the first server system further including a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device to regulate the data flow of the first proxy group; and

a second server system coupled to the communication network and having a plurality of second processes and a second proxy group, the second proxy group having a second shared memory and a second proxy, wherein the first proxy and the second proxy are configured to form a communication link with the other,

wherein the first server system functions as a client with respect to the second server system, and the first server system functions as a server with respect to the browser system.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the first server system is a Web server and the second server system is an executing server.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the first slots includes:

a first input space to temporarily store data to be transmitted to a destination node via the first proxy; and

a first output space to temporarily store data received from a source node via the first proxy.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of the first server systems and a plurality of the second server systems.

5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the first server system includes a plurality of proxy groups, each proxy group including a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device to regulate the data flow of that proxy group.

6. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the second shared memory has a plurality of second slots, each second slot being assigned to one of the plurality of second processes and configured to store data transmitted by or to be received by the assigned second process, the second server system further including a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device to regulate the data flow of the second proxy group.

7. A communication system, comprising:

a plurality of browsers;

a plurality of Web servers to handle requests from the plurality of browsers, each Web server having a plurality of first processes and a first proxy group having a first shared memory and a first proxy, the first shared memory having a plurality of first slots, each first slot being assigned to one of the plurality of first processes and configured to store data transmitted by or to be received by the assigned first process, each Web server including a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark devices assigned to the first proxy group; and

a plurality of executing servers to communicate with the Web servers, each executing server having a plurality of second processes and a second proxy group having a second shared memory and a second proxy, the second shared memory having a plurality of second slots, each second slot being assigned to one of the plurality of second processes and configured to store data transmitted by or to be received by the assigned second process, each executing servers including a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device assigned the second proxy group,

wherein the first proxy group and second proxy group are configured to form a communication link with the other,

wherein the first server system functions as a client with respect to the second server system, and the first server system functions as a server with respect to the browser system.

8. A server in a communication system, comprising:

a plurality of processes;

a proxy group to provide a communication link with another node in the communication system, the proxy group having a shared memory and a proxy; and

a mark device group assigned to the plurality of the processes and the proxy group to regulate data flow into and out of the shared memory, the mark device group having a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device,

wherein the server has the ability to function both as a client and a server.

9. The server of claim 8, wherein the shared memory includes a plurality of slots, each slot being assigned to one of the plurality of first processes and configured to store data.

10. The server of claim 9, wherein each of the slots includes:

an input space to store data transmitted by the process assigned to the slot; and

an output space to store data to be received by the process assigned to the slot.

11. The server of claim 8, wherein there are a plurality of proxy groups.

12. A method for transferring data in a communication system, comprising:

providing a first server system having a plurality of first processes and a first proxy group with a first shared memory and a first proxy, the first server system further including a plurality of process mark devices and a single proxy mark device to regulate data flow of the first server system;

providing a second server system having a plurality of processes and a second proxy group;

generating by one of the first processes a process request to be transmitted to one of the second processes;

storing the process request into the first shared memory having a plurality of first slots, wherein each of the first slots is assigned to one of the first processes and the request is stored in the first slot assigned to the first process that had generated the request;

retrieving the request and transmitting a proxy request to the second server system using the first proxy; and

reading the proxy mark device to indicate that the process request has been accessed,

wherein the first server system is configured to function as a client with respect to the second server system, and the first server system is configured to function as a server with respect to a browser system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the communication system further includes a client that is a client of the first server system, wherein the process request transmitted to the second server system is generated in response to a request transmitted by the client to the first server system.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first sever system is a Web server and the client is a browser.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the first slots includes a first input space and the process request stored in the first slot is stored in the first input space of that first slot.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the process mark devices being assigned to one of the first input spaces, the method further comprising:

changing the state of the corresponding process mark device once the process request is stored in the first input space to indicate that the first input space contains data.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

generating, by the second process which received the process request, a reply to the request;

storing the reply into the second shared memory having a plurality of second slots, each second slot being assigned to one of the second processes, wherein the reply is stored in the second slot assigned to the second process that had generated the reply;

transmitting the reply stored in the second slot to the first server system via the second proxy;

receiving the transmitted the reply via the first proxy;

storing the received data into the first shared memory, wherein the received data is stored in the first slot that is assigned to the first process that had transmitted the request; and

reading the reply stored in the first slot.

18. A method of handling data received in a communication system having a plurality of processes running thereon, the method comprising:

receiving data from a source node via a proxy provided within the communication system;

storing the received data into a shared memory, wherein the shared memory has a plurality of slots, each slot being assigned to one of the processes; and

transmitting the stored data to the process to which the data is directed,

wherein the data stored in the shared memory is stored in the slot assigned the process to which the data is directed,

wherein the communication system includes a plurality of process mark devices that are assigned to the plurality of slots to regulate the data flow into and out of the slots and a single proxy mark device assigned to the proxy to regulate the data flow into and out of the communication system.