Connection forwarding

• US 8,140,690 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2008
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Riverbed Technology, LLC (Riverbed Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Riverbed Technology Incorporated
• Inventors: Ly, Kand, Tseng, Joshua, McCanne, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taha, Shaq
• Application Number:
  US12/331,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20090094371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• 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 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams

Abstract

Two or more network traffic processors connected with the same LAN and WAN are identified as neighbors. Neighboring network traffic processors cooperate to overcome asymmetric routing, thereby ensuring that related sequences of network traffic are processed by the same network proxy. A network proxy can be included in a network traffic processor or as a standalone unit. A network traffic processor that intercepts a new connection initiation by a client assigns a network proxy to handle all messages associated with that connection. The network traffic processor conveys connection information to neighboring network traffic processors. The neighboring network traffic processors use the connection information to redirect network traffic associated with the connection to the assigned network proxy, thereby overcoming the effects of asymmetric routing. The assigned network proxy handles redirected network traffic in much the same way that it would handle network traffic received directly.

Claims

1. In a network usable by clients and servers for conveying messages there between comprising transactions wherein a transaction comprises one or more messages from a client forming a client request to a server and one or more messages from the server forming a server response to the client, wherein at least one message from the client is conveyed from the client to the server via an owning proxy, a system for ensuring that the owning proxy has access to parts of the transaction, the owning proxy being a proxy that is programmed to expect such access, the system comprising:

logic in the owning proxy for maintaining a connection status;

logic in the owning proxy for deriving new-connection information from a message that establishes a new client/server connection;

logic in the owning proxy for providing the new-connection information to at least one of a plurality of neighboring proxies;

logic in the owning proxy for conveying the connection status information to the plurality of neighboring proxies, wherein;

a) the connection status information indicates at least one transaction owned by the owning proxy; and

b) the plurality of neighboring proxies are proxies that can receive messages as part of a transaction owned by the owning proxy but not directed to the owning proxy;

at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies comprising;

a) logic that stores the new-connection information and associates the new-connection information with the owning proxy;

b) logic for tracking transaction ownership; and

c) logic for transferring messages to the owning proxy using the new-connection information to be processed by the owning proxy, when indicated by a tracked transaction ownership information that the messages are a related sequences of messages, wherein the logic for transferring messages to the owning proxy is adapted to encapsulate at least a portion of a message received by the neighboring proxy using a tunneling protocol; and

logic in the owning proxy that processes the related sequence of messages using the same owning proxy.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the owning proxy is a client-side proxy connected with at least one client via a local area portion of the network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the owning proxy is a server-side proxy connected with at least one server via a local area portion of the network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic for tracking transaction ownership includes logic adapted to store the connection status information and logic adapted to determine if a message received by the neighboring proxy is associated with a transaction indicated by the connection status information.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one additional proxy adapted to form an association with the owning proxy, wherein the owning proxy and the additional proxy each include logic adapted to facilitate communication of messages between a client and a server via the owning proxy and the additional proxy over at least a portion of the network.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the owning proxy is adapted to process messages to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the client.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the owning proxy is adapted to process messages to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the server.

4. In a network usable by clients and servers for conveying messages there between comprising transactions wherein a transaction comprises one or more messages from a client forming a client request to a server and one or more messages from the server forming a server response to the client, wherein at least one message from the client is conveyed from the client to the server via an owning proxy, a system for ensuring that the owning proxy has access to parts of the transaction, the owning proxy being a proxy that is programmed to expect such access, the system comprising:

logic in the owning proxy for maintaining a connection status;

logic in the owning proxy for deriving new-connection information from a message that establishes a new client/server connection;

logic in the owning proxy for providing the new-connection information to at least one of a plurality of neighboring proxies;

logic in the owning proxy for conveying the connection status information to the plurality of neighboring proxies, wherein;

a) the connection status information indicates at least one transaction owned by the owning proxy; and

b) the plurality of neighboring proxies are proxies that can receive messages as part of a transaction owned by the owning proxy but not directed to the owning proxy;

at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies comprising;

a) logic that stores the new-connection information and associates the new- connection information with the owning proxy;

b) logic for tracking transaction ownership; and

c) logic for transferring messages to the owning proxy using the new-connection information to be processed by the owning proxy, when indicated by a tracked transaction ownership information that the messages are a related sequences of messages, wherein the logic for transferring messages to the owning proxy is adapted to modify a destination address of a message received by the neighboring proxy; and

logic in the owning proxy that processes the related sequence of messages using the same owning proxy.

31. The system of claim 4, wherein the owning proxy is a client-side proxy connected with at least one client via a local area portion of the network.

32. The system of claim 4, wherein the owning proxy is a server-side proxy connected with at least one server via a local area portion of the network.

33. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic for tracking transaction ownership includes logic adapted to store the connection status information and logic adapted to determine if a message received by the neighboring proxy is associated with a transaction indicated by the connection status information.

34. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

at least one additional proxy adapted to form an association with the owning proxy, wherein the owning proxy and the additional proxy each include logic adapted to facilitate communication of messages between a client and a server via the owning proxy and the additional proxy over at least a portion of the network.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the owning proxy is adapted to process messages to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the client.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the owning proxy is adapted to process messages to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the server.

9. A method, in a network usable by clients and servers for conveying messages there between including transactions wherein a transaction includes one or more messages from a client forming a client request to a server and one or more messages from the server forming a server response to the client, wherein at least one message from the client is conveyed from the client to the server via an owning proxy, the method ensures that the owning proxy has access to parts of the transaction, the owning proxy being a proxy that is programmed to expect such access, the method comprising:

maintaining a connection status using logic in the owning proxy;

deriving a new-connection information from a message that establishes a new client/server connection using logic in the owning proxy;

providing the new-connection information to at least one of a plurality of neighboring proxies using logic in the owning proxy;

conveying a connection status information to the plurality of neighboring proxies using logic in the owning proxy, wherein;

a) the connection status information indicates at least one transaction owned by the owning proxy; and

b) the plurality of neighboring proxies are proxies that can receive messages as part of a transaction owned by the owning proxy but not directed to the owning proxy;

storing the new-connection information and associating the new-connection information with the owning proxy using logic in at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies;

tracking transaction ownership using logic in the at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies;

transferring messages to the owning proxy using logic in the least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies and using the new-connection information to be processed by the owning proxy, when indicated by a tracked transaction ownership information that the messages are a related sequences of messages, wherein transferring messages to the owning proxy includes encapsulating at least a portion of a message received by the neighboring proxy using a tunneling protocol; and

processing the related sequence of messages using the same owning proxy.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the owning proxy is a client-side proxy connected with at least one client via a local area portion of the network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the owning proxy is a server-side proxy connected with at least one server via a local area portion of the network.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein tracking transaction ownership using logic in the at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies includes storing the connection status information and determining if a message received by the neighboring proxy is associated with a transaction indicated by the connection status information.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

forming an association between at least one additional proxy and the owning proxy; and

facilitating communication of messages between a client and a server via the owning proxy and the additional proxy over at least a portion of the network using logic in the owning proxy or the additional proxy.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising processing messages at the owning proxy to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the client.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising processing messages at the owning proxy to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the server.

12. A method, in a network usable by clients and servers for conveying messages there between including transactions wherein a transaction includes one or more messages from a client forming a client request to a server and one or more messages from the server forming a server response to the client, wherein at least one message from the client is conveyed from the client to the server via an owning proxy, the method ensures that the owning proxy has access to parts of the transaction, the owning proxy being a proxy that is programmed to expect such access, the method comprising:

maintaining a connection status using logic in the owning proxy;

deriving a new-connection information from a message that establishes a new client/server connection using logic in the owning proxy;

providing the new-connection information to at least one of a plurality of neighboring proxies using logic in the owning proxy;

conveying a connection status information to the plurality of neighboring proxies using logic in the owning proxy, wherein;

a) the connection status information indicates at least one transaction owned by the owning proxy; and

b) the plurality of neighboring proxies are proxies that can receive messages as part of a transaction owned by the owning proxy but not directed to the owning proxy;

storing the new-connection information and associating the new-connection information with the owning proxy using logic in at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies;

tracking transaction ownership using logic in the at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies;

transferring messages to the owning proxy using logic in the least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies and using the new-connection information to be processed by the owning proxy, when indicated by a tracked transaction ownership information that the messages are a related sequences of messages, wherein transferring messages to the owning proxy using logic comprises modifying a destination address of a message received by the neighboring proxy; and

processing the related sequence of messages using the same owning proxy.

37. The method of claim 12, wherein the owning proxy is a client-side proxy connected with at least one client via a local area portion of the network.

38. The method of claim 12, wherein the owning proxy is a server-side proxy connected with at least one server via a local area portion of the network.

39. The method of claim 12, wherein tracking transaction ownership using logic in the at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies includes storing the connection status information and determining if a message received by the neighboring proxy is associated with a transaction indicated by the connection status information.

40. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

forming an association between at least one additional proxy and the owning proxy; and

facilitating communication of messages between a client and a server via the owning proxy and the additional proxy over at least a portion of the network using logic in the owning proxy or the additional proxy.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising processing messages at the owning proxy to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the client.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising processing messages at the owning proxy to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the server.

17. In a network usable by clients and servers for conveying messages there between comprising transactions wherein a transaction comprises one or more messages from a client forming a client request to a server and one or more messages from the server forming a server response to the client, wherein at least one message from the client is conveyed from the client to the server via an owning proxy, a system for ensuring that the owning proxy has access to parts of the transaction, the owning proxy being a proxy that is programmed to expect such access, the system comprising:

logic in the owning proxy for maintaining a connection status;

logic in the owning proxy for deriving new-connection information from a message that establishes a new client/server connection;

logic in the owning proxy for providing the new-connection information to at least one of a plurality of neighboring proxies;

logic in the owning proxy for conveying the connection status information to the plurality of neighboring proxies, wherein;

a) the connection status information indicates at least one transaction owned by the owning proxy; and

b) the plurality of neighboring proxies are proxies that can receive messages as part of a transaction owned by the owning proxy but not directed to the owning proxy;

at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies comprising;

a) logic that stores the new-connection information and associates the new-connection information with the owning proxy;

b) logic for tracking transaction ownership; and

c) logic for transferring messages to the owning proxy using the new-connection information to be processed by the owning proxy, when indicated by a tracked transaction ownership information that the messages are a related sequences of messages;

d) logic for extracting a payload from a message; and

e) logic for sending the payload to the owning proxy;

logic in the owning proxy that processes the related sequence of messages using the same owning proxy.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the owning proxy is a client-side proxy connected with at least one client via a local area portion of the network.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the owning proxy is a server-side proxy connected with at least one server via a local area portion of the network.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the logic for tracking transaction ownership includes logic adapted to store the connection status information and logic adapted to determine if a message received by the neighboring proxy is associated with a transaction indicated by the connection status information.

21. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

at least one additional proxy adapted to form an association with the owning proxy, wherein the owning proxy and the additional proxy each include logic adapted to facilitate communication of messages between a client and a server via the owning proxy and the additional proxy over at least a portion of the network.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the owning proxy is adapted to process messages to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the client.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the owning proxy is adapted to process messages to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the server.

24. A method, in a network usable by clients and servers for conveying messages there between including transactions wherein a transaction includes one or more messages from a client forming a client request to a server and one or more messages from the server forming a server response to the client, wherein at least one message from the client is conveyed from the client to the server via an owning proxy, the method ensures that the owning proxy has access to parts of the transaction, the owning proxy being a proxy that is programmed to expect such access, the method comprising:

maintaining a connection status using logic in the owning proxy;

deriving a new-connection information from a message that establishes a new client/server connection using logic in the owning proxy;

providing the new-connection information to at least one of a plurality of neighboring proxies using logic in the owning proxy;

conveying a connection status information to the plurality of neighboring proxies using logic in the owning proxy, wherein;

a) the connection status information indicates at least one transaction owned by the owning proxy; and

b) the plurality of neighboring proxies are proxies that can receive messages as part of a transaction owned by the owning proxy but not directed to the owning proxy;

storing the new-connection information and associating the new-connection information with the owning proxy using logic in at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies;

tracking transaction ownership using logic in the at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies;

transferring messages to the owning proxy using logic in the least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies and using the new-connection information to be processed by the owning proxy, when indicated by a tracked transaction ownership information that the messages are a related sequences of messages, wherein the transferring messages to an owning proxy includes extracting the payload from a message and sending the payload to the owning proxy; and

processing the related sequence of messages using the same owning proxy.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the owning proxy is a client-side proxy connected with at least one client via a local area portion of the network.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the owning proxy is a server-side proxy connected with at least one server via a local area portion of the network.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein tracking transaction ownership using logic in the at least one of the plurality of neighboring proxies includes storing the connection status information and determining if a message received by the neighboring proxy is associated with a transaction indicated by the connection status information.

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

forming an association between at least one additional proxy and the owning proxy; and

facilitating communication of messages between a client and a server via the owning proxy and the additional proxy over at least a portion of the network using logic in the owning proxy or the additional proxy.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising processing messages at the owning proxy to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the client.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising processing messages at the owning proxy to produce transformed messages, wherein the transformed messages are equivalent to messages previously received by the owing proxy from the server.