System and method for resolving network layer anycast addresses to network layer unicast addresses
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving a first request for an information object at an anycast address of a network, wherein the request is received at an information object repository selected according to specified performance metrics by executing a Web Information Locator by Distance (WILD) communication protocol that runs on top of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to map an address of a client to one or more addresses of Web caches or a content server that has a best type-of-service distance to the address of the client and to one or more addresses of redirecting Web routers that have the best type-of-service distance to the address of the client wherein the WILD protocol comprises a WILD update message for communicating mappings of client address ranges to neighboring Web routers, wherein the WILD update message comprises a basic routing update, a list of type-of-service distances from the Web caches to destinations, and a list of type-of-service distances from the redirecting Web routers to the destinations;
resolving the anycast address to a corresponding unicast network address for the information object, wherein the resolving includes transmitting a second request for the corresponding unicast network address in response to the first request, awaiting an anycast resolution response to the second request for a predetermined time, and returning a failure message if the response to the second request is not received within the predetermined time, wherein the second request is a single Internet Protocol (IP) packet having the anycast network address;
instructing the information object repository to obtain a copy of the information object at the corresponding unicast network address; and
returning the corresponding unicast network address, if the anycast resolution response in response to the second request is received within the predetermined time, the anycast resolution response is a single IP packet having the corresponding unicast network address.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An information object repository is configured to resolve a network layer anycast address to a network layer unicast address in response to a request for an information object at the network layer anycast address. The information object repository may be further configured to resolve the network layer anycast address by transmitting a request for the network layer unicast address and awaiting a response thereto, and, in some cases, to return a failure message to a source of the request for the information object if the response to the request for the network layer unicast address is not received within a timeout period. Preferably, the request for the network layer unicast address is a single IP packet that includes the network layer anycast address. Similarly, the request for the network layer unicast address is preferably a single IP packet that includes the network layer unicast address. The response to the request for the network layer unicast address may be returned by a host having the network layer unicast address, or another network node configured to do so.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving a first request for an information object at an anycast address of a network, wherein the request is received at an information object repository selected according to specified performance metrics by executing a Web Information Locator by Distance (WILD) communication protocol that runs on top of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to map an address of a client to one or more addresses of Web caches or a content server that has a best type-of-service distance to the address of the client and to one or more addresses of redirecting Web routers that have the best type-of-service distance to the address of the client wherein the WILD protocol comprises a WILD update message for communicating mappings of client address ranges to neighboring Web routers, wherein the WILD update message comprises a basic routing update, a list of type-of-service distances from the Web caches to destinations, and a list of type-of-service distances from the redirecting Web routers to the destinations; resolving the anycast address to a corresponding unicast network address for the information object, wherein the resolving includes transmitting a second request for the corresponding unicast network address in response to the first request, awaiting an anycast resolution response to the second request for a predetermined time, and returning a failure message if the response to the second request is not received within the predetermined time, wherein the second request is a single Internet Protocol (IP) packet having the anycast network address; instructing the information object repository to obtain a copy of the information object at the corresponding unicast network address; and returning the corresponding unicast network address, if the anycast resolution response in response to the second request is received within the predetermined time, the anycast resolution response is a single IP packet having the corresponding unicast network address. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 11)
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- 4. An information object repository comprising a Web router configured to resolve a network layer anycast address of a network to a network layer unicast address in response to a first request for an information object at the network layer anycast address, wherein resolving the network layer anycast address includes transmitting a second request to the anycast address in response to the first request, to obtain a copy of the information object at the network layer unicast address, and to receive an anycast resolution response in response to the second request to resolve the network layer anycast address, wherein the information object repository is selected according to specified performance metrics by the Web router executing a Web Information Locator by Distance (WILD) communication protocol to communicate with neighboring Web routers that runs on top of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to map an address of a client to one or more addresses of Web caches or a content server that has a best type-of-service distance to the address of the client and to one or more addresses of redirecting Web routers that have the best type-of-service distance to the address of the client, wherein the Web router comprises storage means for storing a WILD update message for communicating mappings of client address ranges to the neighboring routers, wherein the WILD update message comprises a basic routing update, a list of type-of-service distances from the Web caches to destinations, and a list of type-of-service distances from the redirecting Web routers to the destinations, wherein the second request to resolve is a single Internet Protocol (IP) packet that includes the network layer anycast address, wherein the anycast resolution response is a single Internet Protocol (IP) packet that includes the network layer unicast address.
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7. A network, comprising:
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at least one client configured to transmit a first request for an information object using a network layer anycast address; an information object repository configured to receive the request for the information object, to resolve the network layer anycast address into a network layer unicast address that includes transmitting a second request to the network layer anycast address for the network layer unicast address in response to the first request, to obtain a copy of the information object at the network layer unicast address, and to receive an anycast resolution response in response to the second request to resolve the network layer anycast address; and a Web router, wherein the information object repository is selected according to specified performance metrics by the Web router executing a Web Information Locator by Distance (WILD) communication protocol to communicate with neighboring Web routers that runs on top of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to map an address of a client to one or more addresses of Web caches or a content server that has a best type-of-service distance to the address of the client and to one or more addresses of redirecting Web routers that have the best type-of-service distance to the address of the client, wherein the Web router comprises storage means for storing a WILD update message for communicating mappings of client address ranges to the neighboring routers, wherein the WILD update message comprises a basic routing update, a list of type-of-service distances from the Web caches to destinations, and a list of type-of-service distances from the redirecting Web routers to the destinations, wherein the second request is a single IP packet that includes the network layer anycast address, wherein the anycast resolution response is a single IP packet that includes the network layer unicast address. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 12)
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Specification