Connection management using connection request transfer protocol

• US 9,338,192 B1
• Filed: 12/28/2012
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Srinivasan, Arun Kumar, He, Junxiao, Kohli, Jaspal, Narayanan, Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Parry, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Houlihan, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US13/730,023
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor

Abstract

A network device receives, from a client device, a client request associated with a connection with a server device, where the client request identifies requested content. The network device determines connection information that identifies the connection with the server device, transmits, to a proxy server, a connection transfer request that identifies the connection information and the requested content, and receives, from the proxy server, an indication that the proxy server is capable of providing the requested content. Based on receiving the indication, the network device provides, from the proxy server to the client device, a response to the client request, and provides, from the proxy server and to the server device, information that causes the server device to terminate the connection. The network device may use a connection request transfer protocol to transmit the connection transfer request, and the client request may be an HTTP request.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

one or more processors to;

receive, from a client device, a client request associated with a first TCP connection between a server device and the client device,

the client request identifying requested content;

determine connection information that identifies the first TCP connection between the server device and the client device,

the connection information including at least one of a source port number associated with the first TCP connection, a destination port number associated with the first TCP connection, a packet sequence number associated with the first TCP connection, a packet acknowledgement number associated with the first TCP connection, or a TCP window size associated with the first TCP connection;

determine whether the client request is a candidate for a TCP connection transfer based on whether the connection information is identified in a routing table accessible to the device;

generate a connection transfer request to transfer the first TCP connection from the server device to a proxy server when the client request is the candidate for the TCP connection transfer,

the connection transfer request identifying the connection information and the requested content,

the connection transfer request being different than the client request;

transmit, to the proxy server, the connection transfer request,

the connection transfer request, transmitted to the proxy server, causing the first TCP connection to be transferred by establishing a second TCP connection between the proxy server and the client device,

the second TCP connection being established based on the connection information that identifies the first TCP connection and without the proxy server sending a TCP control packet to the client device;

receive, from the proxy server, an indication that the proxy server is capable of providing the requested content;

provide, from the proxy server and to the client device via the second TCP connection, a response to the client request, based on the indication; and

provide, from the proxy server and to the server device, information that causes the server device to terminate the first TCP connection, based on the indication.

2. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors, when transmitting the connection transfer request, are to:

determine, based on the connection information, that the client request is associated with a connection to be transferred; and

transmit the connection transfer request based on determining that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred.

3. The device of claim 2, where the one or more processors, when determining that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred, is to:

determine that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred based on at least one of;

a port number identified by the client request;

a network address associated with the client request;

an application signature identified by the client request;

or

a comparison of the connection information to information stored in the routing table.

4. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

transmit a keep-alive request to a plurality of proxy servers,

the keep-alive request identifying a selection algorithm to be used to select one of the plurality of proxy servers to service the client request;

receive a keep-alive response from one or more of the plurality of proxy servers,

the keep-alive response identifying status information associated with the one or more of the plurality of proxy servers, that identified status information being based on the selection algorithm;

select a particular proxy server, of the plurality of proxy servers, based on the selection algorithm and the status information; and

where the one or more processors, when transmitting the connection transfer request to the proxy server, are to;

transmit the connection transfer request to the particular proxy server.

5. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

route at least one packet that assists in establishing the first TCP connection;

where the one or more processors, when transmitting the connection transfer request to the proxy server, are to;

transmit, to the proxy server, information that identifies a packet acknowledgement number or a packet sequence number associated with the at least one packet; and

where the response to the client request includes information that is based on the packet acknowledgement number or the packet sequence number.

6. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

determine an amount of time that has passed since the connection transfer request was submitted to the proxy server;

determine that the amount of time satisfies a threshold that is based on a TCP retransmission timeout value; and

route the client request to the server device based on determining that the amount of time satisfies the threshold.

7. The device of claim 1, where the information that causes the server device to terminate the first TCP connection includes information that identifies the client device.

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

one or more instructions that, when executed by a processor of a network device, cause the processor to;

receive, from a client device, a client request associated with a first TCP connection between a server device and the client device,

the client request identifying requested content;

determine connection information, associated with the client request, that identifies the first TCP connection,

the connection information including at least one of a source port number associated with the client request, a destination port number associated with the client request, a packet sequence number associated with the client request, a packet acknowledgement number associated with the client request, or a TCP window size associated with the client request;

determine whether the client request is a candidate for a TCP connection transfer based on whether the connection information is identified in a routing table accessible to the network device;

generate a connection transfer request to transfer the first TCP connection from the server device to a proxy server when the client request is the candidate for the TCP connection transfer,

the connection transfer request identifying the connection information and the requested content,

the connection transfer request being different than the client request;

transmit, to the proxy server, the connection transfer request,

the connection transfer request transmitted to the proxy server causing the first TCP connection to be transferred by establishing a second TCP connection between the proxy server and the client device,

the second TCP connection being established based on the connection information that identifies the first TCP connection and without the proxy server sending a TCP control packet to the client device;

receive, from the proxy server, an indication that the requested content is accessible by the proxy server;

route, from the proxy server and to the client device via the second TCP connection, a response to the client request, based on the indication; and

route, from the proxy server and to the server device, information that causes the server device to terminate the first TCP connection, based on the indication.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the processor to transmit the connection transfer request, cause the processor to:

determine, based on the connection information, that the client request is associated with a connection to be transferred; and

transmit the connection transfer request based on determining that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, where the one or more instructions, that cause the processor to determine that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred, cause the processor to:

determine that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred based on at least one of;

a port number identified by the client request;

a network address associated with the client request;

an application signature identified by the client request;

or

a comparison of the connection information to information stored in the routing table.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions further cause the processor to:

transmit a keep-alive request to a plurality of proxy servers,

the keep-alive request identifying a selection algorithm to be used to select one of the plurality of proxy servers to service the client request;

receive a keep-alive response from one or more of the plurality of proxy servers,

the keep-alive response identifying status information associated with the one or more of the plurality of proxy servers, that identified status information being based on the selection algorithm;

select a particular proxy server, of the plurality of proxy servers, based on the selection algorithm and the status information; and

where the one or more instructions, that cause the processor to transmit the connection transfer request to the proxy server, cause the processor to;

transmit the connection transfer request to the particular proxy server.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions further cause the processor to:

route at least one packet that assists in establishing the first TCP connection;

where the one or more instructions, that cause the processor to transmit the connection transfer request to the proxy server, cause the processor to;

transmit, to the proxy server, information that identifies a packet acknowledgement number or a packet sequence number associated with the at least one packet; and

where the response to the client request includes information that is based on the packet acknowledgement number or the packet sequence number.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions further cause the processor to:

determine an amount of time that has passed since the connection transfer request was submitted to the proxy server;

determine that the amount of time satisfies a threshold that is based on a TCP retransmission timeout value; and

route the client request to the server device based on determining that the amount of time satisfies the threshold.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the connection information comprises at least one of:

a source network address associated with the client request;

a destination network address associated with the client request;

or

an application signature associated with the client request.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a network device and from a client device, a client request that identifies requested content;

determining, by the network device, connection information that identifies a first TCP connection between the client device and a server device,

the connection information including at least one of a source port number associated with the first TCP connection, a destination port number associated with the first TCP connection, a packet sequence number associated with the first TCP connection, a packet acknowledgement number associated with the first TCP connection, or a TCP window size associated with the first TCP connection;

determining, by the network device, whether the client request is a candidate for a TCP connection transfer based on whether the connection information is identified in a routing table accessible to the network device;

generating, by the network device, a connection transfer request to transfer the first TCP connection from the server device to a proxy server when the client request is the candidate for the TCP connection transfer,

the connection transfer request identifying the connection information and the requested content,

the connection transfer request being different than the client request;

transmitting, by the network device and to the proxy server, the connection transfer request,

the connection transfer request, transmitted to the proxy server, causing the first TCP connection to be transferred by establishing a second TCP connection between the proxy server and the client device,

the second TCP connection being established based on the connection information that identifies the first TCP connection and without the proxy server sending a TCP control packet to the client device;

receiving, by the network device and from the proxy server, an indication that the requested content is stored by the proxy server;

routing, by the network device and from the proxy server to the client device via the second TCP connection, a response to the client request, based on the indication; and

routing, by the network device and from the proxy server to the server device, information that causes the server device to terminate the first TCP connection, based on the indication.

16. The method of claim 15, where transmitting the connection transfer request comprises:

determining that the client request is associated with a connection to be transferred, based on at least one of;

a port number identified by the client request,

a network address associated with the client request,

an application signature identified by the client request, or

a comparison of the connection information to information stored in the routing table; and

transmitting the connection transfer request based on determining that the client request is associated with the connection to be transferred.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

transmitting a keep-alive request to a plurality of proxy servers,

the keep-alive request identifying a selection algorithm to be used to select one of the plurality of proxy servers to service the client request;

receiving a keep-alive response from one or more of the plurality of proxy servers,

the keep-alive response identifying status information associated with the one or more of the plurality of proxy servers, that identified status information being based on the selection algorithm;

selecting a particular proxy server, of the plurality of proxy servers, based on the selection algorithm and the status information; and

where transmitting the connection transfer request to the proxy server comprises;

transmitting the connection transfer request to the particular proxy server.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

routing at least one packet that assists in establishing the first TCP connection;

where transmitting the connection transfer request to the proxy server comprises;

transmitting, to the proxy server, information that identifies a packet acknowledgement number or a packet sequence number associated with the at least one packet; and

where the response to the client request includes information that is based on the packet acknowledgement number or the packet sequence number.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining an amount of time that has passed since the connection transfer request was submitted to the proxy server;

determining that the amount of time satisfies a threshold that is based on a TCP retransmission timeout value; and

routing the client request to the server device based on determining that the amount of time satisfies the threshold.

20. The method of claim 15, where the connection information comprises at least one of:

a source network address associated with the first TCP connection;

a destination network address associated with the first TCP connection;

or

a protocol associated with the first TCP connection.