Internet communication system

Details Internet communication system Internet communication system

1999-06-30

2003-06-17

Voeltz, Emanuel Todd (Department: 2121)

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput

Remote data accessing

Reexamination Certificate

active

06581090

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and a system for transferring information on the Internet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
Over the last few years, Internet has developed into the fastest growing means of communication and is predicted to be the main system for distributing information in the future. The Internet has become increasingly popular and the number of users is growing at a magnificent rate.
However, the popularity of the Internet, and especially the use of the Internet application World Wide Web, is putting the net under enormous capacity pressure. Traffic on the Internet doubles about every three months, with no signs of slowing down. This kind of exponential growth will eventually slow down, but several factors indicate that it is still far from any slowdown in growth.
Today, only a small fraction, about 3 to 5 percent, of all PCs have access to the Internet. It is believed that most of those who have made and will make the investment in a PC sill eventually want access to the Internet. Furthermore, communication speeds between the user and the Internet infrastructure is increasing rapidly. The transition from 14.4 kbit/s modems to 28.8 kbit/s is just being completed as manufactures announce new modems at 56 kbit/s. Other technologies such as ISDN (128 kbit/s), Cable TV modems (500-10,000 kbit/s) and xDSL, (2,000 to 25,000 kbit/s) are emerging. Moreover, manufacturers of household electronics are launching low costs devices to give Internet world Wide Web access through television sets, telephones, etc.
These and other factors are all contributing in making it increasingly difficult to access information on the Internet, since the system is basically being over-loaded. This problem is a fact both in USA and Europe, but it is even more serious when passing information between USA and Europe. The transatlantic transmission capacity is too small to cope with the exploding Internet use.
Basically, there exists two conventional solutions to this problem. A first solution is to add more band-width and switching capacity, which is being done, but which carries huge costs and also faces significant technical problems. A second solution is to use so called “caching” or “mirroring” techniques. The meaning of these definitions is somewhat undefined and is also in some cases somewhat overlapping. However, “caching” basically means to keep track of the Internet traffic and to keep copies of the most frequently accessed World Wide Web files at a location closer to the user. Similarly, “mirroring” basically means to keep copies of specific World Wide Web files in a mirror server, independent of the access frequencies.
These second solutions hence involve the providing of a local copy of a World Wide Web Site of interest. For example, a copy of CNN's USA-based homepage may be provided in a cache or a mirror at a European “proxy” location, whereby European Internet users may access the CNN homepage without having to use the transatlantic communication link, thereby both attaining quicker access and at the same time lowering the load on the transatlantic link.
However, caching and mirroring also raises several technical problems. For example, current research show that to be most efficient, the cache must be near the original information source. Caching is always more efficient closer to the information content provider server then closer to the user. The problem is that, depending on the popularity of each site, the actual location of the most popular original information providers keep moving around. A cache would therefore need to be very big to be efficient.
Another problem is that the user must specify a location for the copies of the original content information, it being a cache or a mirror. Such a location is called a “proxy” and can be specified in all commonly used softwares for web access. This user interaction is difficult to obtain, given the increasing diversity of web users.
Furthermore, if the proxy is very large, as is needed to provide for a large amount of content with ever changing popularity, it will also, for economical reasons, need to cater for very many users. The proxy itself will then become a bottleneck, and access times may thus increase. Consequently, there exists a problem with the limited scaleability of the proxy technique.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to reduce the capacity constraints on the Internet.
Another object of the invention is to provide a scaleable technology for reducing access time on the Internet which allows growth to a significantly larger amount of users and information traffic on the Internet.
According to the present invention, said objectives are achieved by a method and a system according to the appended claims.
Hence, according the invention, there is provided a concept for transferring information on the Internet, comprising: intercepting an information request from an Internet user directed to an Internet information content provider address; determining whether or not said request relates to an information content provider address providing information which is also provided at a corresponding alternative address; and directing said request either to said alternative address, if existing, or to said information content provider address, if not, for providing the requested information to said user.
The invention is hence based on the use of a so called interceptor, or interceptor means, which is used to examine the information requests from a user to decide whether the same information exists in a copied form or the like on a server means arranged locally with respect to said interceptor means.
Hence, information corresponding to at least part of the information provided at one or more Internet information content provider addresses, is provided at respective associated alternative addresses, preferably in a local storing means such as a local cache or mirror, the arrangement of said alternative addresses providing easier access with respect to a Internet user;
Here, the term “locally” does not necessarily imply locally in the geographical sense, but may just as well mean locally in a time or access sense. The essential feature being that the access to the “local” server is quicker, easier, more cost efficient, or in any other aspect more preferable then the access to the original content provider.
Consequently, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, said storing means is arranged in direct communication with said intercepting means.
According to the invention, the user does not have to decide whether it is preferable to use the alternative server or not. Instead this selection is performed by the interceptor, thereby essentially only making use of the local server when the requested information is actually proveded thereon.
In order for the re-routing of the information requests to be effective, it is preferred that the interception means is arranged close to the user, preferably between said user and an Internet first switching point. Such an Internet first switching point is generally provided by a so called Internet Service Provider, which for example may be the local phone company, such as Telia in Sweden. However, in different applications, it will also or alternatively be preferred to arrange said intercepting means at a Border Router or at a so called Network Access Point.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the interceptor comprises a look up table which includes a first list of information content provider addresses having associated corresponding alternative addresses, making it possible easily to determine whether or not the request relates to information possibly stored at an alternative address on said storing means. The first list may for example include a list of locally stored World Wide Web Sites, i.e. a list of IP-addresses.
The interceptor is hence arranged to receive the information request from the user and then to decide, by comparison with said list, whether the address of int

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