Establishing a cache expiration time to be associated with newly generated output by determining module- specific cache expiration times for a plurality of processing modules

• US 7,574,500 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2006
• Issued: 08/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Reactivity, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roddy, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): DUONG, OANH L
• Application Number:
  US11/355,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20060184656A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,274 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/235, 709/246, 709/216, 709/223, 709/207, 707/5, 711118-119, 711/123, 711/125, 711/126, 711/133, 711/135
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

Providing an input-dependent output is disclosed. A received message is processed to determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message. If a previously cached output is found, the previously cached output is provided to a destination other than the sender of the received message as output for the received message.

Claims

1. A method for providing an input-dependent output comprising:

processing, at a processor, a received message to determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message;

if the previously cached output is found, providing the previously cached output to a destination other than a sender of the received message as output for the received message; and

processing the received message to produce a newly-generated output if the previously cached output is not found and establishing a cache expiration time for the newly generated output, wherein

said processing the received message to produce a newly-generated output includes processing the received message using a plurality of processing modules, and said establishing the cache expiration time includes determining, for each processing module of said plurality of processing modules, a module-specific cache expiration time to be associated with the newly generated output based at least in part on the processing performed by a corresponding processing module.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein processing a received message to determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message includes determining if a currently valid previously cached output exists for the received message.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein determining if a currently valid previously cached output exists for the received message includes determining whether an expiration time associated with a previously cached output for the received message has passed.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising processing the received message to produce a newly-generated output if a previously cached output is not found.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the newly-generated output is provided as output for the received message.

6. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the newly-generated output is cached.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising processing the received message, if a previously cached output is not found, to produce a newly generated output based at least in part on data associated with the received message and caching the newly generated output if a subsequent iteration of said processing performed on said data would produce a subsequent output that is the same as the newly generated output.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the received message includes data and further comprising processing the received message, if a previously cached output is not found, to produce a newly generated output and caching a portion of the newly generated output, the portion being determined based at least in part on at least a portion of the data, if a subsequent iteration of the processing that generated said portion of the newly generated output would produce a subsequent output in which a corresponding portion of the subsequent output is the same as said portion of the newly generated output.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising caching the newly-generated output if a non-zero cache expiration time is established for the newly generated output.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the cache expiration time established for the newly generated output is the shortest of the module-specific cache expiration times for the newly generated output.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the received message comprises a currently received message and the cached output is based at least in part on processing performed on data included in a previously received message.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the processing performed on data included in the previously received message includes at least one of:

an operation on said data, an analysis of said data, and a transformation of said data.

13. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the data included in the previously received message is the same as corresponding data included in the currently received message.

14. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the data included in the previously received message comprises at least in part data from a body or payload portion of the previously received message.

15. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the data included in the previously received message comprises at least in part application layer data.

16. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the cache is indexed by a received message identifier.

17. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein each cached output includes a processed message, an associated received message identifier, and an expiration time.

18. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising evicting an entry from the cache if the cache is full.

19. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising generating a message identifier of the received message.

20. A system for providing an input-dependent output comprising:

a processor configured to receive a message, determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message, and provide the previously cached output to a destination other than a sender of the received message as output for the received message if the previously cached output is found, process the received message to produce a newly-generated output if the previously cached output is not found and establish a cache expiration time for the newly generated output, wherein said processing the received message to produce the newly-generated output includes processing the received message using a plurality of processing modules, and said establishing the cache expiration time includes determining, for each processing module of said plurality of processing modules, a module-specific cache expiration time to be associated with the newly generated output based at least in part on the processing performed by a corresponding processing module; and

a communication interface coupled to the processor and configured to send the previously cached output or the newly-generated output for the received message to the destination other than the sender.

21. A system as recited in claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message including by determining if a currently valid previously cached output exists for the received message.

22. A system as recited in claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to produce a newly generated output, if a previously cached output is not found, based at least in part on data associated with the received message and cache the newly generated output if a subsequent iteration of said processing performed on said data would produce a subsequent output that is the same as the newly generated output.

23. A system as recited in claim 20, wherein the processor is further configured to cache the newly-generated output if a non-zero cache expiration time is established for the newly generated output.

24. A computer program product for providing an input-dependant output, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

processing a received message to determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message;

if the previously cached output is found, providing the previously cached output to a destination other than the sender of the received message as output for the received message; and

processing the received message to produce a newly-generated output if the previously cached output is not found and establishing a cache expiration time for the newly generated output,

wherein said processing the received message to produce a newly-generated output includes processing the received message using a plurality of processing modules, and establishing the cache expiration time includes determining, for each processing module of said plurality of processing modules, a module-specific cache expiration time to be associated with the newly generated output based at least in part on the processing performed by a corresponding processing module.

25. A computer program product as recited in claim 24, wherein processing a received message to determine if a previously cached output exists for the received message includes determining if a currently valid previously cached output exists for the received message.

26. A computer program product as recited in claim 24, further comprising computer instructions for processing the received message, if a previously cached output is not found, to produce a newly generated output based at least in part on data associated with the received message and caching the newly generated output if a subsequent iteration of said processing performed on said data would produce a subsequent output that is the same as the newly generated output.

27. A computer program product as recited in claim 24, further comprising computer instructions for caching the newly-generated output if a non-zero cache expiration time is established for the newly generated output.