Method and system for automatically updating content stored on servers connected by a network

• US 7,113,962 B1
• Filed: 01/25/2002
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: F5 Networks, Inc. (F5 Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: F5 Networks, Inc. (F5 Incorporated)
• Inventors: Saether, Christian D., Kearny, Ryan C., DeCaprio, Donald Joseph, Kee, Thomas E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Uyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, TE Y
• Application Number:
  US10/056,821
• Time in Patent Office: 1,705 Days
• Field of Search: 370/429, 370400-402, 707/203, 707/8, 707200-201, 709/224, 709/219, 709/246
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A system and computer implementable method for updating content on servers coupled to a network. The method includes updating an origin server with a version of files used to provide content, retrieving data that indicates an action to be performed on one or more cache servers in conjunction with updating the origin server, and performing the action to update entries in the one or more cache servers. Each entry in each cache server is associated with a subset of the content on the origin server and may include an expiration field and/or a time to live field. An example of a subset of content to which a cache entry may be associated is a Web page. Cache servers are not required to poll origin servers to determine whether new content is available. Cache servers may be pre-populated using push or pull techniques.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of updating content over a network, comprising:

receiving a second version of a file from a global server;

updating a first version of the file on an origin server with the second version of the file, wherein the second version of the file is associated with content on the origin server;

if the second version of the file is updated on the origin server, automatically replacing on a cache server each entry associated with the first version of the file with a corresponding entry in the second version of the file, wherein content on the cache server is automatically updated in response to updating of content on the origin server;

enabling at least a first origin server to be taken offline, wherein each origin server that is taken offline includes at least some content that corresponds to content on at least a second origin server that remains online, and updating a content item on each origin server that is taken offline with at least a portion of the second version of the file; and

enabling each origin server that is taken offline to be brought back online, and updating content on the cache server that corresponds to the updated content item on each origin server that is brought back online and if the offline origin server is brought back online automatically expiring a time field for all entries of each file associated with the updated second version of the file.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising pre-populating the content on the cache server when updating the content on the origin server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein pre-populating the cache server includes pushing content from a server.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein pre-populating the cache server includes the cache server pulling content from an origin server.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when a period of time passes, automatically expiring a portion of the content on the cache server; and

automatically updating each entry for the version of each file associated with the expired portion of content with an entry associated with a current version of each file from the origin server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the portion of content is expired by modifying a time to live field associated with the portion of content.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically updating each version of each file associated with expired content on the origin server with a current version of each file from another server.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when a period of time passes, automatically expiring a time field associated with all content on the cache server; and

automatically updating each entry for the version of each file associated with the expired content with a current version of each file from the origin server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a request for content on the cache server, automatically comparing the requested content to corresponding content on the origin server to determine whether the requested content on the cache server is current; and

automatically updating each entry on the cache server associated with the requested content that is determined to be non-current with a current version of each file from the origin server that is associated with the requested content.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the file includes an HTML Web page.

11. A computer-implemented method of updating content over a network, comprising:

updating a first version of a file on an origin server with a second version of the file, wherein the second version of the file is associated with content on the origin server;

if the second version of the file is updated on the origin server, automatically replacing on a cache server each entry associated with the first version of the file with a corresponding entry in the second version of the file, wherein content on the cache server is automatically updated in response to updating of content on the origin server;

taking off-line at least one of a plurality of origin servers with at least some content that corresponds to content on at least one of the plurality of origin servers that remains on-line, and updating a first content on each off-line origin server with a second content;

if the second content is updated on each off-line origin server, bringing each off-line origin server with other content back on-line and automatically updating content on the cache server that corresponds to the updated second content on each origin server that is brought back on-line; and

if the at least one of the plurality of origin servers is brought back on-line, causing the cache server to automatically expire a time field for all entries of each file associated with the updated second content.

12. An apparatus for updating content over a network, comprising:

means for updating a version of a file on an origin server with another version of the file, wherein the other version of the file is associated with content on the origin server;

if the other version of the file is updated on the origin server, means for automatically replacing each entry on a cache server associated with the previous version of the file with the other version of the file, wherein content on the cache server is automatically updated with other content in response to the updating of content on the origin server;

means for enabling at least a first origin server to be taken offline, wherein each origin server that is taken offline includes at least some content that corresponds to content on at least a second origin server that remains online, and means for updating a content item on each origin server that is taken offline; and

means for enabling each origin server that is taken offline to be brought back online, and means for updating content on the cache server that corresponds to the updated content item on each origin server that is brought back online, and means for automatically expiring a time field for all entries of each file associated with the updated content on the cache server if a respective origin server is brought back online.

13. A computer readable storage medium having executable computer instructions for updating content over a network, comprising:

enabling at least a first origin server to be taken offline, wherein at least a second origin server remains online while the first origin server is taken offline;

causing a first file to be updated on the first origin server that is offline;

enabling the first origin server that includes the updated first file to be brought back online;

enabling the second origin server to be taken offline;

causing a second file to be updated on the second origin server that is offline, wherein the second file is associated with the first file; and

in response to updating one of the first or the second origin servers, automatically replacing on a cache server a file corresponding to the first file with a file corresponding to the second file, and automatically expiring a time field for all entries of each file on the cache server corresponding to the first file if the offline origin server is brought back online.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising enabling the second origin server that includes the updated second file to be brought back online.