Selectively handling data processing requests in a computer communications network

• US 7,155,478 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2001
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lindquist, David B., Ims, Steven D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell, Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US09/971,137
• Publication Number:
  US 20030065810A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,910 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 709/245, 709/226, 709/203, 709/202, 718/100, 718/102, 718/104, 718/105
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A system and method for selectively handling requests for dynamic data processing. In the system and method, requests for dynamic data processing can be received in an origin server, but the dynamic data processing can be deferred to an edge server in those circumstances where it is dynamically determined that the edge server is capable of performing such dynamic data processing. In this way, network transmission latencies can be avoided by performing dynamic data processing in those edge servers closest to the requesting user.

Claims

1. A method for selectively handling data processing requests in a computer communications network comprising:

identifying at least one type of dynamic data processing which can be performed in an edge server;

detecting a request for dynamic data processing in a markup language document;

determining whether said edge server can perform said requested dynamic data processing based upon said identified at least one types of dynamic data processing which can be performed in said edge server; and

,

deferring processing of said request to said edge server in response to the determination that said edge server can perform said requested dynamic data processing.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating markup which contains said request for dynamic data processing, encapsulating said markup in a response and forwarding said response to said edge server in response to the determination that said dynamic data processing can be performed in said edge server, wherein said edge server can perform said deferred processing.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

performing said data processing, said data processing producing a result, generating additional markup which contains said result, encapsulating said additional markup in a response and forwarding said response to said edge server in response to the determination that said dynamic data processing cannot be performed in said edge server, wherein said edge server can forward said response to requesting user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein deferring processing of said request to said edge server in response to the determination that said edge server can perform said requested dynamic data processing comprises:

determining whether it is preferable to defer processing of said request to said edge server; and

,

deferring processing of said request to said edge server in response to the determination that it is preferable to defer processing of said request to said edge server.

5. A computer program product on a computer readable storage medium the computer program product comprising a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform:

identifying at least one type of dynamic data processing which can be performed in an edge server;

detecting a request for dynamic data processing in a markup language document;

determining whether said edge server can perform said requested dynamic data processing based upon said identified types of dynamic data processing which can be performed in said edge server; and

,

deferring processing of said request to said edge server in response to a determination that said edge server can perform said requested dynamic data processing.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, further comprising:

generating markup which contains said request for dynamic data processing, encapsulating said markup in a response and forwarding said response to said edge server in response to the determination that said dynamic data processing can be performed in said edge server, wherein said edge server can perform said deferred processing.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising:

performing said data processing, said data processing producing a result, generating additional markup which contains said result, encapsulating said additional markup in a response and forwarding said response to said edge serve in response to the determination that said dynamic data processing cannot be performed in said edge serve, wherein said edge server can forward said response to requesting user.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein deferring processing of said request to said edge server in response to the determination that said edge server can perform said requested dynamic data processing comprises:

determining whether it is preferable to defer processing of said request to said edge server; and

,

deferring processing of said request to said edge server in response to a determination that it is preferable to defer processing of said request to said edge server.

9. A system for selectively processing a request for dynamic data processing in a computer communications network comprising:

a tag handler library comprising a plurality of tag handlers configured to perform dynamic data processing;

a tag definition file comprising a plurality of tag definitions, each said tag definition associating a tag handler with a particular markup language tag;

an application processor configured to process markup language formatted data and to invoke tag handlers corresponding to particular markup language tags detected in said markup language formatted data as specified by tag definitions in said tag definition file; and

,

deferred processing logic configured to modify a request header to specify which types of dynamic data processing said system can process, said deferred processing logic being further configured to pre-process said markup language formatted data for processing in said application processor.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said tag handler comprises a Java class.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said markup language formatted data is a Java Server Page (JSP) and said markup language tag is a customized JSP tag.

12. A method for selectively handling data processing requests in a computer communications network comprising:

receiving in an edge server an HTTP request for a Java Server Page (JSP), said HTTP request comprising an HTTP request header;

modifying said HTTP request header to indicate whether said edge server can process JSP program fragments having particular markup tags;

forwarding said HTTP request comprising said modified HTTP request header to an origin server, said origin server processing said HTTP request by serving said requested JSP, but deferring processing of any of said JSP program fragments in said JSP having said particular markup tags, and returning said requested JSP to said edge server; and

,

processing deferred ones of said JSP program fragments in said edge server.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein modifying said HTTP request header to indicate whether said edge server can process JSP program fragments having particular markup tags comprises:

determining whether said edge server is configured to process said JSP program fragments having particular markup tags;

configuring said edge server with selected markup tag handlers so that said edge server can process said JSP program fragments in response to the determination that said edge server is not configured to process said JSP program fragments having particular markup tags; and

,

modifying said HTTP request header to indicate that said edge server can process said JSP program fragments having said particular markup tags.

14. A computer program product on a computer readable storage medium the computer program product comprising a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform:

receiving in an edge server an HTTP request for a Java Server Page (JSP), said HTTP request comprising an HTTP request header;

modifying said HTTP request header to indicate whether said edge server can process JSP program fragments having particular markup tags;

forwarding said HTTP request comprising said modified HTTP request header to an origin serve, said origin serve processing said HTTP request by sewing said requested JSP, but deferring processing of any of said JSP program fragments in said JSP having said particular markup tags, and returning said requested JSP to said edge server; and

,

processing deferred ones of said JSP program fragments in said edge server.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein modifying said HTTP request header to indicate whether said edge serve can process said JSP program fragments having particular markup tags comprises:

determining whether said edge server is configured to process JSP program fragments having particular markup tags;

configuring said edge server with selected markup tag handlers so that said edge server can process said JSP program fragments in response to the determination that said edge server is not configured to process JSP program fragments having particular markup tags; and

,

modifying said HTTP request header to indicate that said edge server can process said JSP program fragments having said particular markup tags.

16. A method for selectively handling data processing requests in a computer communications network comprising:

configuring a tag handler to perform dynamic data processing;

further configuring said tag handler to identify whether a specified edge server can perform said dynamic data processing;

establishing a tag definition corresponding to said tag handler; and

,

embedding references to said tag definition and said tag handler in network distributable markup.