Method and device for performing caching of dynamically generated objects in a data communication network

• US 20070156965A1
• Filed: 12/30/2005
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Kailash, Kailash, Sinha, Rajiv, Soni, Ajay, Khemani, Prakash, Annamalaisami, Saravana, Sundarrajan, Prabakar, Kumar, Anil, Bhushan KR, Bharath
• Granted Patent: US 8,495,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/133
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A method for maintaining a cache of dynamically generated objects. The method includes storing in the cache dynamically generated objects previously served from an originating server to a client. A communication between the client and server is intercepted by the cache. The cache parses the communication to identify an object determinant and to determine whether the object determinant indicates whether a change has occurred or will occur in an object at the originating server. The cache marks the object stored in the cache as invalid if the object determinant so indicates. If the object has been marked as invalid, the cache retrieves the object from the originating server.

Claims

1. A method for caching a dynamically generated object not identified as cacheable, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing in a cache a dynamically generated object not identified as cacheable, the dynamically generated object served from an originating server;

(b) receiving, by the cache, a request to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object; and

(c) marking, by the cache in response to the request, the cached dynamically generated object as invalid.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising requesting, by the originating server to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising automatically requesting, by the originating server, to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object in response to a change to the dynamically generated object in the originating server.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising requesting, by a client, to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object, the client in communication with the originating server to receive the dynamically generated object.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising requesting, by an external administrative control, to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising flushing from the cache the cached dynamically generated object marked as invalid.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving, by the cache, the request to invalidate within one of ten milliseconds or less of caching the dynamically generated object.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving, by the cache, the request to invalidate responsive to expiration of an expiry of the cached dynamically generated object of one of ten milliseconds or less.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising operating the cache on one of an appliance, a network device or a computing device in communications between the originating server and a client.

10. A method for caching a group of dynamically generated objects having at least one object not identified as cacheable, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) identifying, in a cache, a group of dynamically generated objects previously served from an originating server, at least one of the dynamically generated objects not identified as cacheable;

(b) associating, by the cache, the group with an object determinant; and

(c) intercepting, by the cache, a communication identifying the object determinant of the group and indicating a change is one of about to occur or has occurred on the originating server to one of the objects of the group.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising marking, by the cache, the group of dynamically generated objects as invalid in response to receiving the communication.

12. The method of claim 10, comprising flushing from the cache the group of objects marked as invalid.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the group of dynamically generated objects is pre-designated.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising automatically identifying the group of dynamically generated objects and associating the object determinant with the group according to a rule.

15. A method for maintaining a cache of dynamically generated objects, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) intercepting, by a cache, a communication between a client and an originating server;

(b) identifying, by the cache, an object determinant in the communication indicating one of a change has occurred or will occur in a dynamically generated object at the originating server; and

(c) marking, by the cache, the dynamically generated object stored in the cache as invalid.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising obtaining the dynamically generated object from the originating server.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising flushing from the cache the invalid dynamically generated object.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the dynamically generated object is not identified as cacheable.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising:

(e) associating, in the cache, the dynamically generated object with a group of dynamically generated objects previously served from the originating server;

(f) associating, by the cache, the group with the object determinant; and

(g) marking, by the cache, the group of dynamically generated objects as invalid in response to the communication.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising flushing from the cache the group of dynamically generated objects marked as invalid.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the group of dynamically generated objects is pre-designated.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising automatically identifying the group of dynamically generated objects and associating the object determinant with the group according to a rule.

23. The method of claim 15, comprising embedding by the client in the communication the object determinant as a pre-defined string.

24. The method of claim 15, comprising identifying the object determinant based on a pre-defined heuristic rule associated with the dynamically generated object.

25. The method of claim 15, comprising selecting, by the cache, the object determinant from one of the following elements of the communication:

USERID, IP address, TCP port, HTTP header, custom HTTP header, client URL, cookie header, URL query string and POST body.

26. The method of claim 15, comprising extracting, by the cache, from the communication the object determinant based on a user-configured invalidation policy.

27. The method of claim 15, comprising maintaining a table in the cache to associate the object determinant with one or more objects or groups of objects stored in the cache.

28. The method of claim 15, comprising examining, by an intelligent statistical engine, communications from the client to identify a set of dynamically generated objects to store in the cache.

29. The method of claim 15, comprising associating, by the cache, objects stored in the cache into a content group, wherein the content group is represented by a hash table having an incarnation number as an index.

30. The method of claim 15, comprising performing, by the cache, a hash algorithm on the dynamically generated object identified via the communication to determine a change to the dynamically generated object.

31. A system for caching a dynamically generated object not identified as cacheable, the system comprising:

means for storing in a cache a dynamically generated object not identified as cacheable, the dynamically generated object served from an originating server;

means for receiving, by the cache, a request to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object; and

means for marking, by the cache in response to the request, the cached dynamically generated object as invalid.

32. The system of claim 31, comprising means for requesting, by the originating server to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object.

33. The system of claim 31, comprising means for automatically requesting, by the originating server, to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object in response to a change to the dynamically generated object in the originating server.

34. The system of claim 31, comprising means for requesting, by a client, to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object, the client in communication with the originating server to receive the dynamically generated object.

35. The system of claim 31, comprising means for requesting, by an external administrative control, to invalidate the cached dynamically generated object.

36. The system of claim 31, comprising means for flushing from the cache the cached dynamically generated object marked as invalid.

37. The system of claim 31, comprising means for receiving the invalidation request within one of ten milliseconds or less of caching the dynamically generated object.

38. The system of claim 31, comprising means for receiving the invalidation request within one of ten milliseconds or less of caching the dynamically generated object.

39. The system of claim 31, comprising means for receiving, by the cache, the request to invalidate responsive to expiration of an expiry of the cached dynamically generated object of one often milliseconds or less.

40. The system of claim 31, wherein the cache operates on one of an appliance, a network device or a computing device in communications between the originating server and a client.

41. A system for caching a group of dynamically generated objects having at least one object not identified as cacheable, the system comprising:

means for identifying, in a cache, a group of dynamically generated objects previously served from an originating server, at least one of the dynamically generated objects not identified as cacheable;

means for associating, by the cache, the group with an object determinant; and

means for intercepting, by the cache, a communication identifying the object determinant of the group and indicating a change is one of about to occur or has occurred on the originating server to one of the objects of the group.

42. The system of claim 41, comprising means for marking, by the cache, the group of dynamically generated objects as invalid in response to receiving the communication.

43. The system of claim 41, comprising means for flushing from the cache the group of objects marked as invalid.

44. The system of claim 41, wherein the group of dynamically generated objects is pre-designated.

45. The system of claim 41, comprising means for automatically identifying the group of dynamically generated objects and associating the object determinant with the group according to a rule.

46. A system for maintaining a cache of dynamically generated objects, the system comprising:

means for intercepting, by a cache, a communication between a client and originating server;

means for identifying, by the cache, an object determinant in the communication that indicates one of a change has occurred or will occur in a dynamically generated object at the originating server; and

means for marking, by the cache, the dynamically generated object stored in cache as invalid.

47. The system of claim 46, comprising means for obtaining the dynamically generated object from the originating server.

48. The system of claim 46, comprising means for flushing from the cache the invalid dynamically generated object.

49. The system of claim 46, comprising:

means for associating, in the cache, the dynamically generated object with a group of dynamically generated objects previously served from the originating server;

means for associating, by the cache, the group with the object determinant; and

means for marking, by the cache, the group of dynamically generated objects as invalid in response to the communication.

50. The system of claim 46, wherein the dynamically generated object is identified as non-cacheable.

51. The system of claim 46, comprising means for flushing from the cache the group of dynamically generated objects marked as invalid.

52. The system of claim 46, wherein the group of dynamically generated objects is pre-designated.

53. The system of claim 46, comprising means for automatically identifying the group of dynamically generated objects and associating the object determinant with the group according to a rule.

54. The system of claim 46, comprising means for embedding by the client in the communication the object determinant as a pre-defined string.

55. The system of claim 46, comprising means for identifying the object determinant based on a pre-defined heuristic rule associated with the dynamically generated object.

56. The system of claim 46, comprising means for selecting, by the cache, the object determinant from one of the following elements of the communication:

USERID, IP address, TCP port, HTTP header, custom HTTP header, client URL, cookie header, URL query string and POST body.

57. The system of claim 46, comprising means for extracting, by the cache, from the communication the object determinant based on a user-configured invalidation policy.

58. The system of claim 46, comprising means for maintaining a table in the cache to associate the object determinant with to one or more objects or groups of objects stored in the cache.

59. The system of claim 46, comprising means for examining, by an intelligent statistical engine, communications from the client to identify a set of dynamically generated objects to store in the cache.

60. The system of claim 46, comprising means for associating, by the cache, objects stored in cache into a content group, wherein the content group is represented by a hash table having an incarnation number as an index.

61. The system of claim 46, comprising means for performing, by the cache, a hash algorithm on the dynamically generated object identified via the communication to determine a change to the dynamically generated object.