Apparatus for transferring data via a proxy server and an associated method and computer program product

• US 8,812,579 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Rivera, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Liangche A
• Assistant Examiner(s): ISOM, JOHN W
• Application Number:
  US11/614,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20080155067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,798 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/203, 709/220, 709/227, 713/201, 705/38
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• 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 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for transferring data among clients, recipients, and servers. In general, an apparatus is described for coordinating and modifying data being transferred from clients to destination servers and from destination servers to recipients. A proxy server modifies requests and responses from clients and destination servers, respectively, and ultimately communicates related responses to recipients according to one or more predefined rules pertaining to each client and destination server. In this way, requests may be communicated from clients to the appropriate destination servers such that the requests may be fulfilled by the destination servers, and responses may be communicated from the destination servers to the appropriate recipients. The load on potential destination servers, network conditions, and the content of the responses received may be considered and addressed by the proxy server, facilitating the transfer of data.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory device to store instructions; and

a proxy server device to execute the instructions to;

receive load data for respective loads of a plurality of destination server devices,

the plurality of destination server devices being different from the proxy server device,

receive network connection status data related to a status of respective connections to the plurality of destination server devices,

receive a request from a client device,

the request being associated with a first format of a plurality of formats, and

the request being directed to a first destination server device of the plurality of destination server devices,

select, according to at least one predefined rule and based on the client device, the load data, the network connection status data, and contents of the request, a second destination server device of the plurality of destination servers devices,

the first destination server device being different from the second destination server device,

modify the received request, according to the at least one predefined rule, to form a related request associated with a second format of the plurality of formats,

the second format being different from the first format, and

the second format being selected from the plurality of formats based on the client device and the second destination server device,

provide, via the network, the related request to the second destination server device,

receive, via the network, a response to the related request from the second destination server device,

the response being associated with a third format of the plurality of formats,

determine, based on the at least one predefined rule and the third format, whether the response is invalid,

identify, based on the at least one predefined rule, a recipient device that is different from the client device when the response is invalid,

modify the response, according to the at least one predefined rule and when the response is invalid, to form a related response associated with a fourth format of the plurality of formats,

the fourth format being different from the third format, and

the fourth format being selected from the plurality of formats based on the recipient device, and

provide the related response to the recipient device when the response is invalid.

2. The system of claim 1,

where the proxy server device is further to:

provide the related response to the client device.

3. The system of claim 1, where the proxy server device is further to:

store, in the memory device, at least one of the related request or the related response; and

access the memory device when providing the at least one of the related request or the related response.

4. The system of claim 1,

where the network connection status data indicates that a connection, between the proxy server device and one of the plurality of destination server devices, is lost, and

where the proxy server device, when selecting the second destination server device, is further to:

initiate a process to re-establish the connection between the proxy server and the one of the plurality of destination server devices, and

prevent the one of the plurality of destination server devices from being selected as the second destination server device until the process to re-establish the connection is completed.

5. The system of claim 4, where the proxy server device, when initiating the process to re-establish the connection, is further to attempt to re-establish the connection at predefined time intervals.

6. The system of claim 1,

where the proxy server device, when selecting the second destination server device, is further to select at least two destination server devices of the plurality of destination server devices,

where the proxy server device, when modifying the received request, is further to form at least two related requests, based on the request and according to the at least one predefined rule,

where the at least two related requests are associated with at least two respective portions of the request,

where each of the at least two related requests is formatted for a respective one of the at least two destination server devices,

where the proxy server device, when providing the related request, is further to provide each of the at least two related requests to the respective one of the at least two destination server devices,

where the proxy server device, when receiving the response, is further to receive at least two related responses from the at least two destination server devices, and

where the proxy server device, when modifying the received request, is to form the related response based on the at least two related responses.

7. The system of claim 1,

where the proxy server device is further to:

receive data regarding at least one condition of the network,

where the at least one condition of the network does not relate to the load data or the network connection status data, and

where the proxy server device, when selecting the second destination server device, is further to determine, according to the at least one predefined rule, the second destination server device based on the received data regarding the at least one condition of the network.

8. The system of claim, 1 further comprising:

an interface to receive at least one input to modify the at least one predefined rule,

where the proxy server device is further to;

communicate intermittently with the interface; and

when the at least one predefined rule has been modified, update the at least one predefined rule without interrupting the providing of the related request and the providing the related response.

20. The system of claim 1,

where the first format and the fourth format include Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and

where the second format and the third format include Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).

9. A method comprising:

storing, by one or more server devices;

at least one predefined rule,

load data for each of a plurality of destination servers, and

connection status data related to a status of a connection, over a network, of each of the plurality of destination servers;

storing, by the one or more server devices, a request from a client device and intended for a first destination server,

the request being in a first format of a plurality of formats;

selecting, by the one or more server devices, a second destination server from the plurality of destination servers,

the second destination server being selected according to the at least one predefined rule and based on contents of the request, the load data, and the connection status data,

the second destination server being different from the first destination server, and

the one or more server devices being different from the first destination server and the plurality of destination servers;

modifying, by the one or more server devices, the request to form a related request,

the related request being in a second format, of the plurality of formats, that differs from the first format, and

the second format being selected from the plurality of formats according to the at least one predefined rule and based on the second destination server;

providing, by the one or more server devices, the related request to the second destination server;

receiving, by the one or more server devices and from the second destination server, a response to the related request,

the received response being in a third format of the plurality of formats;

determining, by the one or more server devices and based on the at least one predefined rule and the third format, whether the received response is invalid;

identifying, by the one or more server devices, a recipient device that is different from the client device when the response is invalid,

the recipient device being identified according to the at least one predefined rule, the stored request, and contents of the received response;

modifying, via the one or more server devices and when the received response is invalid, the received response to form a related response,

the related response being in a fourth format, of the plurality of formats, that differs from the third format, and

the fourth format being selected from the plurality of formats according to the at least one predefined rule and based on the recipient device; and

providing the related response to the recipient device when the response is invalid.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

storing at least one of the related request or the related response in a memory; and

accessing the memory when providing at least one of the related request or the related response.

11. The method of claim 9, where selecting the second destination server further includes:

determining the second destination server from among two or more of the plurality of destination servers that are currently designated to receive related requests;

undesignating one of the designated two or more of the plurality of destination servers for which the associated connection is lost;

attempting to re-establish the associated connection to the undesignated one of the plurality of destination servers; and

re-designating the undesignated one of the plurality of destination servers to receive related requests when the connection is re-established.

12. The method of claim 9,

where selecting the second destination server further includes selecting at least two destination servers of the plurality of destination servers,

where modifying the request further includes forming at least two related requests,

where providing the related request further includes providing each of the at least two related requests to each of the at least two selected destination servers to fulfill a respective one of at least two portions of the request, and

where modifying the received response further includes forming the related response based on responses to the at least two related requests received from the at least two selected destination servers.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving data regarding at least one condition of a network to which the plurality of destination servers are connected,

where the least one condition of the network does not relate to the load data or the connection status data, and

where selecting the second destination server includes determining the second destination server based on the received data and according to the at least one predefined rule.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

periodically updating the at least one predefined rule without interrupting the providing of the related request and the providing of the related response.

21. The method of claim 9,

where the first format and the fourth format include Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and

where the second format and the third format include Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).

23. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

providing the related response to the client device.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by a computer device, cause the computer device to receive a request from a client device to be relayed to a first destination server of a plurality of destination servers,

the request being in a first format, of a plurality of formats, associated with the first destination server;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to determine, according to at least one predefined rule and based on contents of the request, load data for each of a plurality of destination servers, and connection status data related to a status of respective connections, over a network, to the plurality of destination servers, to not forward the request to the first destination server;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to redirect, when determining not to forward the request to the first destination server, to a second destination server, of the plurality of destination servers, that differs from the first destination server,

the one or more instructions to redirect the request to the second destination server including;

one or more instructions to select the second destination server from the plurality of destination servers,

the second destination server being selected according to the at least one predefined rule and based on the contents of the request, the load data for each of a plurality of destination servers, and the connection status data related to a status of respective connections, over the network, to the plurality of destination servers,

one or more instructions to modify the request according to at least one predefined rule to form a related request,

the related request being in a second format, of the plurality of formats, that differs from the first format, and

the second format being associated with the second destination server, and

one or more instructions to provide, over the network, the related request to the second destination server;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to receive, from the second destination server, a response to the related request,

the response being in a third format of the plurality of formats;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to determine, based on the at least one predefined rule and the third format, whether the response is invalid;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to select a recipient device that is different from the client device when the response is invalid;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to modify, based on the recipient device and when the response is invalid, the response to form a related response,

the related response being in a fourth format, of the plurality of formats, that differs from the third format, and

the fourth format being associated with the recipient device; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the computer device, cause the computer device to provide the related response to the selected recipient device when the response is invalid.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to store at least one of the related request or the related response.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, where the one or more instructions to select the second destination server further include:

one or more instructions to select the second destination server from among a plurality of designated destination servers that are currently designated to receive related requests;

one or more instructions to remove a designation of one, of the plurality of designated destination servers, which is associated with, based on the connection data, a lost connection;

one or more instructions to attempt to re-establish the lost connection; and

one or more instructions to re-designate the one destination server as one of the designated destination serves that will receive related requests, when the lost connection is re-established.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to receive data regarding at least one condition of a network to which the plurality of destination servers are connected,

where the least one condition of the network does not relate to the load data or the connection status data, and

where the one or more instructions to select the second destination server further include;

one or more instructions to determine the second destination server further based on the received data regarding the at least one condition of the network and according to the at least one predefined rule.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to update the at least one predefined rule without interrupting the providing of the related request and the providing of the related response.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,

where the first format and the fourth format include Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and

where the second format and the third format include Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, where the instructions further comprise:

provide the related response to the client device.