Method and apparatus for client side state management

• US 7,404,003 B1
• Filed: 09/29/2000
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Data Expedition, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Data Expedition, Inc.
• Inventors: Noble, Seth Bradley
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAZARO, DAVID R
• Application Number:
  US09/675,982
• Time in Patent Office: 2,853 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709230-237, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 714/748, 714/749, 370/230, 370/231
• US Class Current: 709/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/326 in the transport layer [OSI layer 4] H04L69/16 takes precedence

Abstract

A method that maintains an understanding at a client of those portions of a response that have been received over a network from a server and issues a request message from the client to the server for a portion of the response that has not been received at the client.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

performing the following at a client transport layer;

receiving a request for an action to be performed by a server to a data object, said data object being maintained by said server, said server to generate a response for said client as a consequence of performing said action;

creating a request message, said request message to be transported from said client to said server over a network, said response being divide-able into a plurality of smaller response portions, wherein said request message comprises a request for a first response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions and wherein said request message further comprises;

1) a description of said action;

2) a description of said data object;

3) a first limit that defines the maximum size of said first response portion;

maintaining at said client an understanding of how much of said first response portion has been sent by said server and received from said network by said client;

issuing another request message for transport from said client to said server for another response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions that has not been requested from said server by said client in response to said request;

determining said another portion has not been timely received; and

,

reissuing a second request message requesting said another portion, said second request message for transport from said client to said server.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending a reply message from said server to said client, said reply message having at least a portion of said first response.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said reply message further comprises an indication of a size of said response.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said indication of a size of said response further comprises an indication of how much of said response remains to be delivered to said client.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein said reply message is part of a burst of reply messages, said burst of reply messages carrying the complete content for said first response portion.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said another request message further comprises a starting address and an extent.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said starting address corresponds to an address between a starting address for said response and an ending address for said response.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said extent corresponds to an address between a starting address for said response and an ending address for said response.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein said reply message further comprises an indication of a capacity of said server.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said indication of a capacity of said server further comprises a server burst size limit.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein said another request message further comprises an indication of a capacity of said client.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said indication of a capacity of said client further comprises a client burst limit.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising, after said response is fully received at said client, receiving, at said client transport layer, a second request for a second action to be performed by said server to a second data object, said second data object being maintained by said server, said server to generate a second response for said client as a consequence of performing said second action.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said method further comprises, at said client transport layer, creating a third request message for transportation from said client to said server over said network, said second response also being divide-able into a second plurality of smaller response portions, wherein said third request message comprises a request for a first response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions and wherein said third request message further comprises:

1) a description of said second action;

2) a description of said second data object;

3) a first limit that defines the maximum size of said first response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions;

maintaining at said client an understanding of how much of said first response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions has been sent by said server and received from said network by said client; and

,

issuing another request message for transport from said client to said server for another response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions that has not been requested from said server by said client in response to said request;

determining said another portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions has not been timely received; and

,

reissuing a second request message for transport from said client to said server, said second request message requesting said another portion.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving a request for an action to be performed by a server to a data object, said data object being maintained by said server, said server to generate a response for said client as a consequence of performing said action;

preparing a request message, said request message to be transported from a client to said server over a network, said response being divide-able into a plurality of smaller response portions, wherein said request message comprises a request for a first response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions, wherein said first portion is less than the full size of said response and wherein said request message further comprises;

1) a description of said action;

2) a description of said data object;

3) a first limit that defines the maximum size of said first portion;

maintaining at said client an understanding of how much of said first response portion has been sent by said server and received from said network by said client;

issuing another request message for transport from said client to said server for another response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions that has not been requested from said server by said client in response to said request;

determining said another portion has not been timely received; and

,

reissuing a second request message requesting said another portion, said second request message for transport from said client to said server, wherein, said receiving of said request, said preparing, said maintaining, said issuing, said determining and said reissuing are performed by a client transport layer;

performing, at said server, at least a part of said action to said data object; and

sending a burst of reply messages from said server to said client over said network in order to answer said request message, wherein;

1) each reply message within said burst of reply messages carries a different piece of said asked for first response portion;

2) the aggregate amount of response data of said different pieces of said burst of reply messages is an amount of data that is not larger than said first limit.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said client and said server can identify said response as an addressable block of data.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said request further comprises:

1) a first address of said block of data that corresponds to a starting address for said response; and

2) a second address of said block of data that corresponds to a terminating address for said response.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said request defines:

1) a first address of said block of data that corresponds to a starting address for said response; and

2) an extent value that describes how much information beyond said starting address corresponds to the rest of said response.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising sending a second request message from said client to said server over said network, wherein said second request message asks for a second response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said second request message further comprises said first limit.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising sending a second burst of reply messages from said server to said client in order to answer said second request message.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein said first limit is maintained by said client, and a third limit is maintained by said server, said third limit defining the maximum amount of data that said server is allowed to send to said client in answering said request message, wherein said third limit is less than said first limit and said aggregate of said different pieces is an amount of data that is not larger than said third limit.

23. The method of claim 15 wherein at least one of said reply messages further comprises the size of said response.

24. The method of claim 15 wherein at least one of said reply messages further comprises an object identifier that said client may use to refer to said data object for subsequent requests that invoke said data object.

25. The method of claim 15 wherein said client assigns a transaction identifier to said request and includes said transaction identifier into said request message.

26. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which when executed by a processing core cause said processing core to perform a method, said method comprising:

performing the following at a client transport layer;

receiving a request for an action to be performed by a server to a data object, said data object being maintained by said server, said server to generate a response for said client as a consequence of performing said action;

creating a request message, said request message to be transported from said client to said server over a network, said response being divide-able into a plurality of smaller response portions, wherein said request message comprises a request for a first response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions and wherein said request message further comprises;

1) a description of said action;

2) a description of said data object;

3) a first limit that defines the maximum size of said first response portion;

maintaining at said client an understanding of how much of said first response portion has been sent by said server and received from said network by said client;

issuing another request message for transport from said client to said server for another response portion of said plurality of smaller response portions that has not been requested from said server by said client in response to said request;

determining said another portion has not been timely received; and

,

reissuing a second request message requesting said another portion, said second request message for transport from said client to said server.

27. The machine readable medium of claim 26 wherein the method further comprises sending a reply message from said server to said client, said reply message having at least a portion of said first response portion.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein said reply message further comprises an indication of a size of said response.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 28 wherein said indication of a size of said response further comprises an indication of how much of said response remains to be delivered to said client.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein said reply message is part of a burst of reply messages, said burst of reply messages carrying the complete content for said first response portion.

31. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein said another request message further comprises a starting address and an extent.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 31 wherein said starting address corresponds to an address between a starting address for said response and an ending address for said response.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 31 wherein said extent corresponds to an address between a starting address for said response and an ending address for said response.

34. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein said reply message further comprises an indication of a capacity of said server.

35. The machine readable medium of claim 34 wherein said indication of a capacity of said server further comprises a server burst size limit.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein said another request message further comprises an indication of a capacity of said client.

37. The machine readable medium of claim 36 wherein said indication of a capacity of said client further comprises a client burst limit.

38. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein said method further comprises, after said response is fully received at said client, receiving, at said client transport layer, a second request for a second action to be performed by said server to a second data object, said second data object being maintained by said server, said server to generate a second response for said client as a consequence of performing said second action.

39. The machine readable medium of claim 38 wherein said method further comprises, at said client transport layer, creating a third request message for transportation from said client to said server over said network, said second response also being divide-able into a second plurality of smaller response portions, wherein said third request message comprises a request for a first response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions and wherein said third request message further comprises:

1) a description of said second action;

2) a description of said second data object;

3) a first limit that defines the maximum size of said first response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions;

maintaining at said client an understanding of how much of said first response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions has been sent by said server and received from said network by said client; and

,

issuing another request message for transport from said client to said server for another response portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions that has not been requested from said server by said client in response to said request;

determining said another portion of said second plurality of smaller response portions has not been timely received; and

,

reissuing a second request message for transport from said client to said server, said second request message requesting said another portion.