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Generalized proximity service

  • US 8,145,699 B2
  • Filed: 05/30/2003
  • Issued: 03/27/2012
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method for a requesting client to determine the closest available endpoint for accessing a service and for establishing a network connection from the requesting client to the endpoint in a computer network environment that includes a plurality of endpoints which provide the service and a nearest endpoint locator, the method comprising:

  • transmitting a request from the requesting client to the nearest endpoint locator, wherein the request identifies a service of interest desired by the requesting client;

    receiving at the requesting client from the nearest endpoint locator an ordered enumeration of a plurality of endpoints, each of the plurality of endpoints in the received ordered enumeration providing the service of interest,the ordered enumeration of a plurality of endpoints comprising a data structure, the data structure comprising a plurality of fields, wherein for each endpoint in the plurality of endpoints, the plurality of fields includes a field comprising an identification of the each endpoint and includes an associated field comprising a value corresponding to a proximity to the client for the each endpoint,the nearest endpoint locator having ascertained the network location of the requesting client,the nearest endpoint locator having determined that each endpoint in the ordered enumeration provides the service of interest,the nearest endpoint locator having determined the network location of each of the endpoints in the ordered enumeration,the nearest endpoint locator having determined the network proximity to the requesting client of each endpoint in the ordered enumeration, andthe nearest endpoint locator having sorted the endpoints in the ordered enumeration according to the network proximity of each endpoint in the ordered enumeration to the requesting client,wherein the received ordered enumeration of the plurality of endpoints providing the service of interest comprises an enumeration of two equidistant endpoints having the same proximity to the requesting client, and wherein the ordering of the equidistant endpoints in the ordered enumeration of the plurality of endpoints is in accordance with an additional criterion, the additional criterion comprising the network address of each of the equidistant endpoints; and

    the requesting client establishing a network connection from the requesting client to an endpoint from the ordered enumeration.

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