Communication proxy device

• US 7,127,502 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 10/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nishikado, Takashi, Yoshida, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiley, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Avellino, Joseph E.
• Application Number:
  US09/890,826
• Time in Patent Office: 2,462 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-203, 709/238, 709204-207, 709217-219, 709227-229, 707/3, 719/313, 719/314, 719/311, 719/330, 712220-248
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication proxy apparatus that achieves a high-speed access to latest information by making full use of a cache data in response to an access request for the information data without changing a server device or a client device, and that realizes high-speed access control using a simple instruction.

The communication proxy apparatus additionally comprises:

• • an individual action control means for conditionally instructing execution of an action by explicitly instructing identification information of specific information data, or by adding the information data and an individual action tag to reply data received from another device; and
  • a distributed access control means for performing the following: keeping an access log for the specific information data using said means; referring to the log; executing the instructed process for the communication proxy, which has accessed the information data; aggregating execution results; and returning the aggregated result.

Claims

1. A communication proxy apparatus comprising:

an access request agent, wherein said access request agent is placed on a communication path between a server device and a client device;

receives an access request for an access to information data held in the server device from the client device or another at least one communication proxy apparatus;

issues the access request, as an agent, to the server device or still another at least one communication proxy apparatus;

obtains the requested information data and attribute information of the information data; and

returns the obtained data; and

an individual action control agent comprising;

an individual action storage for storing individual action definition information indicating a relationship between the information data and action information that indicates an action to be executed for the specific information data processed by the communication proxy apparatus as an agent, and that indicates execution conditions of the action;

an individual action instruction agent for registering individual action definition information in the individual action storage; and

wherein an individual action execution agent for executing an individual action for the information data, which is the data obtained from the server device, based on the individual action definition information, under instructed conditions;

wherein said individual action instruction agent comprises means for registering individual action definition information of the information data in individual action instruction storage according to the action information, if registration in the individual action storage is instructed by an explicit instruction containing identification information of target information data and action information to be executed for the information data, or if as a result of checking information data received by the communication proxy apparatus, it is found that an individual action tag for instructing action information to be executed for the information data is added to the information data;

wherein an individual action tag control agent comprises an individual action tag adding/removing agent for adding the individual action tag or removing the added individual action tag, under a certain condition, when transmitting from the communication proxy apparatus the information data received by the communication proxy apparatus, and the added data received together with the information data;

wherein said individual action definition information comprises an action type classification information for specifying that the individual action definition information is registered according to identification information of target information data and explicit instruction of action information, or that the individual action definition information is registered by an individual action tag added to the information data;

the individual action instruction agent comprises means for registering the action type classification information when individual action definition information of each information data is registered in the individual action storage means; and

wherein the individual action tag adding/removing agent comprises means for adding an individual action tag corresponding to the information data before transmitting the information data, when for the information data transmitted from the communication proxy apparatus, the identification information of the information data and individual action definition information explicitly specified by action information is stored in the individual action storage means.

2. A communication proxy apparatus comprising:

an access request agent, wherein said access request agent is placed on a communication path between a server device and a client device;

receives an access request for an access to information data held in the server device from the client device or another at least one communication proxy apparatus;

issues the access request, as an agent, to the server device or still another at least one communication proxy apparatus;

obtains the requested information data and attribute information of the information data; and

returns the obtained data; and

an individual action control agent comprising;

an individual action storage for storing individual action definition information indicating a relationship between the information data and action information that indicates an action to be executed for the specific information data processed by the communication proxy apparatus as an agent, and that indicates execution conditions of the action;

an individual action instruction agent for registering individual action definition information in the individual action storage; and

an individual action execution agent for executing an individual action for the information data, which is the data obtained from the server device, based on the individual action definition information, under instructed conditions,

wherein said individual action instruction agent comprises a means by which, if registration in the individual action storage means is instructed by an explicit instruction containing identification information of target information data and action information to be executed for the information data, or if as a result of checking information data received by the communication proxy apparatus, it is found that an individual action tag for instruction action information to be executed for the information data is added to the information data, individual action definition information of the information data is registered in the individual action instruction storage according to the action information;

wherein an individual action tag control agent comprises an individual action tag adding/removing agent for adding the individual action tag or removing the added individual action tag or removing the added individual action tag, under a certain condition, when transmitting from the communication proxy apparatus the information data received by the communication proxy apparatus, and the added data received together with the information data;

wherein the individual action instruction agent comprises a means for storing an action instruction, which should be executed for said individual action tag, as a form of processing program; and

wherein the individual action execution agent comprises a means for executing the held processing program as an individual action for said individual action tag.

3. A communication proxy apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said communication apparatus comprises;

a program load means for loading a processing program in the communication proxy apparatus;

a program storage means for storing a loaded program;

and an action program correlation table that hold a relationship between a program entry address and action identification information;

said program load means comprises;

a means for receiving an instruction including action identification information and program information to be loaded, and for storing the program information in the program storage means; and

a means for registering a relationship between an entry address of the stored program information and specified action identification information in the action program correlation table; and

wherein the individual action control agent uses the information registered in the action program correlation table to execute the corresponding individual action program.