URL based communication protocol from a client computer to a network device

• US 7,761,500 B1
• Filed: 02/29/2000
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wei, Liming, Farinacci, Dino, Eckert, Toerless
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell; Robert B
• Application Number:
  US09/515,941
• Time in Patent Office: 3,794 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/225, 709/226, 709/238, 709/239
• 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 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams

Abstract

A method of signaling in a computer network uses interception by a network device of a message transmitted by a client computer to a server. The message contains a Universal Resource Locator (URL), the URL having a reserved port designation. The network device parses the URL and intercepts the message in response to finding the reserved port designation in the URL. The network device executes a command, where the command is carried in a field of the intercepted message. The client computer receives the URL having the reserved port designation in a HTML file transmitted to the client computer by the server. The message containing the URL is transmitted by the client computer in response to a user requesting a resource displayed in a web page displayed by the client computer. A second web page is transmitted to the client computer by a server receiving a request for services, and the URL containing the port designation is written into the second web page so that the URL is executed automatically as the second web page is received by the client'"'"'s browser. The method transmits a redirect message by the network device to the client computer, the redirect message redirecting to an address of a web page without the reserved port designation in the URL to carry information to the server.

Claims

1. A method of signaling in a computer network, comprising:

receiving, by a network device, a message transmitted by a client computer to a server, said message containing a Universal Resource Locator (URL), said URL having a particular reserved port designation;

detecting the particular reserved port designation by the network device;

in response to the detecting, intercepting the message at the network device, and not re-transmitting the message to the server or another device;

reading a command from the message, the command stored as a portion of the URL in the message, the command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client computer and the server; and

executing, in response to said reading, the command by said network device.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

establishing by said network device, in response to said command, a designated quality of service for a communication session to said client computer.

3. The method as in claim 2 further comprising:

transmitting, by said network device, control messages to other network devices to establish said quality of service for said communication session.

4. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving by said client computer said URL having said particular reserved port designation in a file transmitted to said client computer by said server.

5. The method as in claim 4 further comprising:

receiving said file as a HTML file from said server; and

transmitting said message containing said URL by said client computer in response to a user requesting a resource displayed in a web page displayed by said client computer.

6. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting by said network device to said client computer a redirect message, said redirect message redirecting to an address of said server without said particular reserved port designation.

7. The method as in claim 6 further comprising:

including in said redirect message a status of said network device, said status to be transmitted by said client computer to said server in a redirected message.

8. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

establishing by said network device, in response to said command, a forwarding session for a multicast group to forward only multicast group packets having a source station indicated by an address carried in said command.

9. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

implementing said network device as a router.

10. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

implementing said network device as a switch.

11. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

implementing said network device as a layer 4 switch.

12. A method of signaling a network device in a computer network, the network device located between a client computer and a server in the computer network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving by the network device a message transmitted by the client, the message en route to the server, the message containing a Universal Resource Locator (URL) field;

detecting, by the network device, a specific port number stored in a first portion of the URL field;

in response to detecting the specific port number, interpreting a second portion of said URL field that is provided to store a path on the server and a query string for the server as a command to the network device rather than as a path and a query string; and

executing the command by the network device, the command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client and the server.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of:

in response to detecting the specific port number, intercepting the message by the network device, such that the message is prevented from reaching the server.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the URL is stored in a Layer 4 Header.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the first portion of the URL is a <

port>

portion of the URL.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the second portion of the URL is a <

path>

?<

searchpart>

portion of the URL.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein a third portion of the URL is a <

server>

portion that stores a network address of the server.

18. The method as in claim 12 wherein the characteristic of the connection between the client computer and the server is a Quality of Service (QOS) category for the connection.

19. The method as in claim 12 wherein the characteristic of the connection between the client computer and the server is a source specific multicast, where the network device only forwards multicast group messages having both a group address and a source address contained in the URL field.

20. The method of claim 12 wherein the command is structured according to a CMD&

{ARGx=<

argx>

} format, where CMD is a command word and {ARGx=<

argx>

} is a list of arguments.

21. A network device for use in a computer network, the network device comprising:

a network circuit configured to receive a message transmitted by a client, the message en route to a server;

a packet classification unit configured to parse a Universal Resource Locator (URL) field in the message and to detect a specific port number stored in a first portion of the URL field and to, in response to the specific port number, forward the message to a processor; and

the processor configured to interpret a second portion of said URL field that is provided to store a path on the server and a query string for the server as a command to the network device rather than as a path and a query string , and to execute the command, the command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client and the server.

22. The network device of claim 21 the URL is stored in a Layer 4 Header.

23. The network device of claim 21 wherein the first portion of URL is a <

port>

portion of the URL.

24. The network device of claim 21 wherein the second portion of the URL is a <

path>

?<

searchpart>

portion of the URL.

25. The network device of claim 21 wherein a third portion of the URL is a <

server>

portion that stores a network address of the server.

26. The network device of claim 21 wherein the characteristic of the connection between the client computer and the server is a Quality of Service (QOS) category for the connection.

27. The network device of claim 21 wherein the characteristic of the connection between the client computer and the server is a source specific multicast, where the network device only forwards multicast group messages having both a group address and a source address contained in the URL field.

28. The network device of claim 21 wherein the command is structured according to a CMD&

{ARGx=<

argx>

} format, where CMD is a command word and {ARGx=<

argx>

} is a list of arguments.

29. An apparatus for signaling in a computer network, comprising:

a network device configured to intercept and not re-transmit a message transmitted by a client computer to a server or another device if said message contains a Universal Resource Locator (URL) having a particular reserved port designation, said network device further configured to parse said message to determine if said particular reserved port designation is present; and

a processor in said network device configured to execute a command in response to the message, said command carried in a portion of the URL in said message, said command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client computer and the server.

30. The apparatus as in claim 29 further comprising:

said network device is a router.

31. The apparatus as in claim 29 further comprising:

said network device is a switch.

32. The apparatus as in claim 29 further comprising:

said network device is a layer 4 switch.

33. The apparatus as in claim 29 further comprising:

said network device uses a packet classification unit implemented in hardware to filter a field of said message containing said particular reserved port designation.

34. A method comprising:

receiving, at a network device located between a client computer and a server in a computer network, an Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) REQUEST message transmitted by the client computer, the message en route to the server, the message containing a Universal Resource Locator (URL) field including an address of the server and a specific port number;

detecting the specific port number stored in the URL field of the HTTP REQUEST message, and in response thereto, intercepting the HTTP REQUEST message to prevent the HTTP REQUEST message from reaching the server, and establishing a connection to the client computer from the network device;

receiving, at the network device, a HTTP GET message transmitted by the client computer, the message en route to the server, the message containing a URL field including an address of the server and the specific port number;

detecting the specific port number stored in the URL field of the HTTP GET mesas sage, and in response thereto, intercepting the HTTP GET message to prevent the HTTP GET message from reaching the server, and interpreting a <

path>

?<

searchpart>

portion of the URL field of the HTTP GET message as a command to the network device rather than as a path on the server or a query string for the server, wherein the command specifies a characteristic of a connection between the client computer and the server;

executing the command.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising:

sending a redirect message to the client computer, the redirect message including a URL field that includes the address of the server but does not include the specific port number, to cause the client computer to transmit messages that do not include the specific port number.

36. The method as in claim 34 wherein the characteristic of the connection between the client computer and the server is a Quality of Service (QOS) category for the connection.

37. The method as in claim 34 wherein the characteristic of the connection between the client computer and the server is a source specific multicast, where the network device only forwards multicast group messages having both a group address and a source address contained in the URL field.

38. The network device of claim 34 wherein the command is structured according to a CMD&

{ARGx=<

argx>

} format, where CMD is a command word and {ARGx=<

argx>

} is a list of arguments.

39. A method of signaling in a computer network, comprising:

intercepting by a network device a message transmitted by a client computer to a server and not re-transmitting the message to the server or another device, said message containing a Universal Resource Locator (URL), said URL having a reserved port designation;

executing, in response to said reserved port designation, a command by said network device, said command carried in said message, said command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client computer and the server;

displaying a web page by said client computer, said web page received from a previously contacted computer;

requesting a resource displayed by said web page by a user of said client computer;

transmitting by said client computer, in response to said requesting step, a REQUEST message to a second server; and

transmitting by said second server, in response to receipt of said REQUEST message, a second web page containing said URL having a reserved port designation in a command which automatically transmits a message to said URL as said second web page is being executed by a browser program on said client computer.

40. A method of signaling in a computer network, comprising:

transmitting by a client computer a message to a server, said message containing a Universal Resource Locator (URL), said URL having a particular reserved port designation;

intercepting, in response to said particular reserved port designation, said message by a network device and not re-transmitting the message to the server or another device;

reading a command from the message by the network device, the command stored as a portion of the URL in the message, the command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client computer and the server; and

executing, in response to said particular reserved port designation, the command by said network device.

41. A method of signaling in a computer network, comprising:

receiving by a client computer a Universal Resource Locator (URL) having a particular reserved port designation in a file transmitted to said client computer by a server;

displaying said file as a web page by said client computer;

transmitting a message containing said URL by said client computer in response to a user requesting a resource displayed in said web page, said message transmitted to said server;

intercepting, in response to said particular reserved port designation in said URL in said message, said message by a network device, and not re-transmitting said message to said server or another device; and

executing, in response to said particular reserved port designation, a command by said network device, said command carried in said message as a portion of the URL of the message, said command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client is computer and the server.

42. An apparatus for signaling in a computer network, comprising:

means for intercepting and not re-transmitting to another device a message transmitted by a client computer to a server, said message containing a Universal Resource Locator (URL), said URL having a particular reserved port designation, said means for intercepting including means for parsing said message to determine if said particular reserved port designation is present; and

means, responsive to the means for intercepting said message, for executing a command, said command carried in a portion of the URL in said message, said command specifying a characteristic of a connection between the client computer and the server.