Data communication efficiency

• US 8,639,848 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2012
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fremantle, Paul Zachary
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R
• Application Number:
  US13/586,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20120311067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 531 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 709/235, 709/234, 709/232, 709/230, 709/203, 709204-206
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2876 Pairs of inter-processing entities at each side of the network, e.g. split proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

To reduce repetitive data transfers, data content of an outgoing message is stored within cache storage of an intermediate node of a data communications network. A token for identifying the cached data content is stored at the intermediate node and the sender. When a subsequent outgoing message is to be routed from a first network node to a target destination via the intermediate node, a process running at the first node checks whether the content of the message matches data cached at the intermediate node. If there is a match, a copy of the token is sent from the first node to the intermediate node instead date data content. The token is used at the intermediate node to identify the cached data, and the cached data is retrieved from the cache and forwarded to the target destination as an outgoing message.

Claims

1. A computer storage device storing instructions, which when executed cause one or more processors to perform steps of a method for data communication between a first node and a second node of a data processing network, the method comprising:

deriving a token from data contents of a first outgoing message;

after deriving the token for the first outgoing message,

sending the first outgoing message from a first node to a second node and storing the token in cache storage at the first node;

sending data contents of the first outgoing message for storage in cache storage at the second node without concurrently storing corresponding data contents of the first outgoing message in cache storage at the first node;

prior to sending a second outgoing message from the first node to the second node and after sending the first outgoing message from the first node to the second node,

deriving a token from data contents of the second outgoing message;

comparing the token derived from data contents of the second outgoing message with tokens from several different previous outgoing messages held in cache storage at the first node; and

,

comparing the token derived from data contents of the second outgoing message with tokens previously sent to the second node; and

,

in response to comparing, identifying a matching token and sending the matching token to the second node without necessarily sending the data contents of the second outgoing message.

2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the stored instructions when executed further cause a processor to:

prior to sending the matching token to the second node, check that the second node implements a caching policy such that a matching token and data contents can be expected to be available at the second node; and

send the matching token if the checking step indicates that the matching token and data contents can be expected to be available.

3. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the stored instructions when executed further cause a processor to store the token and the data contents in cache storage at the second node, the token uniquely identifying the data contents of the message from which the token was derived.

4. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the stored instructions when executed further cause a processor to:

responsive to receipt of a token at the second node, compare the received token with tokens held in cache storage at the second node; and

,

in response to identifying a matching token at the second node, retrieve the data contents from cache storage at the second node.

5. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the instruction further provide that for the first outgoing message, deriving a token is performed at the first node and the derived token is sent to the second node together with the first outgoing message and the first outgoing message is not stored in cache memory at the first node.

6. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further provide that for the first outgoing message, deriving a token is performed by a process running at each of the first and second nodes, such that an identical token is derived at each of the first and second nodes.

7. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further provide that deriving a token comprises hashing the data contents of an outgoing message and wherein the first outgoing message is not stored in cache memory at the first node.

8. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the second node is an intermediate node within a network, between an originator of the first outgoing message and a target destination of the first outgoing message and wherein the first outgoing message is a conversation initiation request or a function call or a notification message.

9. The storage device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second nodes is a message broker within a publish/subscribe messaging network, and the message broker identifies recipients for a message by comparing messages with stored subscriptions.

10. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the first and second nodes are messaging middleware computer programs for handling communications between respective first and second endpoint application programs.

11. The storage device of claim 10, wherein the first outgoing message comprises a message header and message body, and wherein the step of deriving a token from data contents of the first outgoing message comprises hashing said message body.

12. The storage device of claim 1, where the instruction further provide that the token identifies the message from which the token was derived.

13. The storage device of claim 1 wherein the instructions further provide that a processor:

detect a data size for the contents of an outgoing message; and

derive, store, and compare tokens only for outgoing messages for which the detected data size exceeds a threshold.

14. The storage device of claim 1, where the instructions further provide that a processor:

compare an outgoing message with a predefined set of message types; and

derive, store, and compare tokens only for outgoing messages which match the predefined set of message types.

15. The storage device of claim 1, where the instructions further provide that a processor:

respond to receipt of the second token and instruction at the second node, by sending a message, including the data contents of the second outgoing message, to members of a group other than the first node.

16. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the stored instructions when executed further cause a processor to:

at an intermediate node, upon receipt of multiple requests to create the same Cache ID, notify a broker that the intermediate node is in a path of a group of target destinations;

at the intermediate node, assign a unique group identifier and respond to a sender with a header that associates a current destination for one or more outgoing messages with the unique group identifier.

17. A computer storage device storing instructions, which when executed cause one or more processors to perform steps of a method for data communication between a first node and a second node of a data processing network, the method comprising:

deriving a token from data contents of a first outgoing message which is sent from a first node to a second node;

storing the derived token and the data contents in cache storage at the first node;

storing the derived token and the data contents in cache storage at the second node;

prior to sending a second outgoing message from the first node to the second node, comparing the data contents of the second outgoing message with the data contents of several different previous outgoing messages stored in cache storage at the first node;

in response to comparing, identifying a partial match, deriving a delta file representing differences between the first outgoing message and the second outgoing message; and

sending the stored token and delta file to the second node without sending the full data contents of the second outgoing message.

18. A computer storage device storing instructions, which when executed cause one or more processors to perform steps of a method for data communication between a first node and a second node of a data processing network for outgoing messages, the method comprising:

deriving a token from data contents of a first outgoing message, where the outgoing message is sent from a first node to a second node;

storing the token in cache storage at the first node;

prior to sending a second outgoing message from the first node to the second node, deriving a token from data contents of the second outgoing message and comparing the token derived from data contents of the second outgoing message with tokens from several different previous outgoing messages held in cache storage at the first node; and

in response to comparing, identifying a matching token and sending the matching token to the second node instead of sending the data contents of the second outgoing message;

wherein, for a set of outgoing messages sent from the first node to the second node, for which set of outgoing messages the comparing identifies a single matching token, defining the target destinations of the set of outgoing messages as a group; and

for a subsequent outgoing message sent from the first node to a first member of the group, deriving a second token from data contents of the subsequent outgoing message,

storing the second token and identification of the group in cache storage at the first node,

storing the second token and data contents of the subsequent outgoing message in cache storage at the second node, and

sending the second token to the second node with an instruction to forward an outgoing message to the members of the group other than the first member.

19. A computer storage device storing instructions, which when executed cause one or more processors to perform steps of a method for data communication between a first node and a second node of a data processing network, the method comprising:

deriving a token from data contents of a first outgoing message which is sent from a first node to a second node;

storing the token and the data contents in cache storage at the first node;

storing the token and the data contents in cache storage at the second node;

prior to sending a second outgoing message from the first node to the second node, comparing the data contents of the second outgoing message with the data contents of several different previous outgoing messages stored in cache storage at the first node;

in response to comparing, identifying a partial match, deriving a delta file representing differences between the first outgoing message and the second outgoing message;

comparing the size of the delta file with a threshold size and determining whether the identified partial match should be accepted based on the delta file size comparison; and

for a partial accepted match, sending the stored token and delta file to the second node without sending the full data contents of the second outgoing message,

for a non-accepted partial match, sending the complete message contents to the second node.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the instructions further provide for a method comprising:

after receiving the stored token and the delta file at the second node, regenerating the second outgoing message at the second node and sending the regenerated second outgoing message from the second node to a third node, the third node being an intermediary network node.

21. The device of claim 19 wherein the first node is an intermediary node in the network, the intermediary node acting between, and separate from, a publisher and an end user subscriber.