Enhanced network communication

Details Enhanced network communication Enhanced network communication

1998-10-20

2001-11-27

Maung, Zarni (Department: 2154)

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput

Computer-to-computer protocol implementing

C709S228000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06324582

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a distributed directory of information related to enhanced communication between computers coupled over a data network, such as enhanced communication between client and server computers coupled through the Internet.
The Internet has become a ubiquitous tool for accessing and retrieving information, and for conducting business in general. Accessing and displaying distributed linked multimedia documents on the Internet, known as browsing pages on the World Wide Web (the “Web”), has become an essential part of information retrieval both for business and pleasure. The Internet has brought previously hard to find information to everyone's fingertips. Devices such as commerce servers are now enabling business transactions to be conducted through the Internet. Due in part to the convenience of obtaining information and carrying out commercial transactions, people are joining the Internet community at a very rapid pace. This explosive growth of the number of users and the popularity of the available services has put a strain on the network which has become congested. This congestion has lead to users experiencing undue delays while trying to retrieve information and communicate through the network. The congestion also leads to the Internet behaving inconsistently. One can experience almost instantaneous response at certain times of the day, while it may appear to be impossible to reach the same server at other times of the day. Long delays and inconsistency diminish the user experience and may result in lost business opportunities.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, client and server computers C
1
-C
9
, S
1
-S
4
(that is, computers executing the client and server applications) are coupled to the Internet
100
. The Internet itself includes high speed (“backbone”) data connections typically operating at data rates in the range of 45 Mb/s (e.g., T3 capacity telephone trunks) or higher connected by switches or routers that forward packets towards their destinations. Computers C
1
-C
9
, S
1
-S
4
are connected to the Internet through network Points of Presence (POPs)
110
a
-
110
d
. A POP typically includes routers
112
a
-
112
d
that are coupled to the Internet through data connections
114
a
-
114
d
each having a capacity typically in the range of 1.5 Mb/s (e.g., a T1 capacity telephone connection) to 45 Mb/s (T3 capacity). Client computers C
1
-C
3
can connect to a POP in a variety of ways, including those described below.
Client computers C
1
-C
3
connect directly to a POP
110
a
over slow-speed, telephone modem connections
121
-
123
communicating a data rates in the range of 28 kb/s to 56 kb/s.
Clients computers C
4
-C
6
are connected to each other within a single location using a local area network (LAN)
130
and a single computer or router serves as a gateway device
132
. This gateway may serve a variety of functions, including packet routing, packet filtering (a security firewall), and various types of proxy service. The connection
124
between gateway device
132
and POP
110
a
is similar to that of the individual clients, although the data rate is typically higher, for example, in the range of 128 kb/s (e.g., an ISDN telephone connection) to serve the requirements of the multiple clients.
Client computers C
7
-C
9
connect directly to a POP
110
b
, but access a gateway device
140
at the POP that acts as a proxy server coupling the clients to a router
112
b
and then to the Internet. The connections
127
-
129
between the clients and the POP typically are slow-speed telephone modem connection. The connection between the client and the proxy server may use standard protocols or may use a proprietary protocol not generally used elsewhere in the Internet.
Servers S
1
-S
4
are connected to POPs
110
c
-
11
o
d
, although the communication capacity between a server site and a POP is typically 1.5 Mb/s or higher. At the server sites, local area networks
150
,
152
having a capacity of 10 Mb/s or higher couple multiple servers and routers
154
,
156
that are used to communicate with the POPs.
Internet communication is based on a layered model of communication protocols consistent with that published by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as shown in FIG.
2
. The set of ISO protocol layers, or protocol stack, is numbered from one, at the lowest layer, to seven, at the application layer.
Communication over the Internet is based on packet-switching techniques. Addressing and transport of individual packets within the Internet is handled by the Internet Protocol (IP) corresponding to layer three, the network layer, of the ISO protocol stack. This layer provides a means for sending data packets from one host to another based on a uniform addressing plan where individual computers have unique host numbers and each computer has a logical set of numbered ports that can be addressed individually. By making use of the IP layer, a sending computer is relieved of the task of finding a route to the destination host. However, packets may be lost or damaged and are not guaranteed to be delivered in the order sent. Therefore, the sending host needs to make sure that the data sent is received successfully and that a series of individual packets is assembled appropriately.
A common denominator for the Internet is the “everything over IP” paradigm. There are protocol variations above layer three, for example, various application and transport protocols, and protocol variations below layer three, for example, various communication paths making up the network infrastructure, but layer three does not change. This allows IP to be the sole routing scheme in the Internet thereby enabling the worldwide connectivity which is a major ingredient of its success.
A transport layer protocol provides end-to-end communication between applications executing on different computers and regulates the flow of information between those applications. Rate and flow control are two examples of regulations of the flow of information. A transport layer protocol may also provide reliable transportation of information including, for example, in-sequence delivery of information and retransmission of lost or damaged information. Today, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used almost exclusively to provide end-to-end reliable (i.e., error free) data streams between computers over the Internet. TCP is layered on the IP protocol and corresponds to ISO layer four, the transport layer.
Software that supports the TCP protocol is provided on most popular operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT, and most variants of Unix. An application using TCP is relieved of the details of creating or maintaining a reliable stream to a remote application by simply requesting that a TCP-based stream be established between itself and a specified remote system.
As a result of TCP being essentially universally accepted as the transport protocol, various client server applications have evolved which layer application-specific protocols on top of end-to-end TCP communication channels, which are in turn layered on the IP network layer. Application layer protocols for file transfer, FTP (file transfer protocol), and for Web page access, HTTP (hyper-text transfer protocol), are two examples of popular application protocols layered on TCP.
The World Wide Web implements a system in which client applications, e.g., browsers such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, can access and display linked documents, called Web pages, through server applications using the application layer hyper-text transfer protocol, HTTP. An address of a Web page or related data, referred to as a URL (uniform resource locator), typically includes a server host name and a symbolic reference to the data. The browser typically establishes a TCP-based connection to a predetermined port on the server host. That port is monitored by the server process. The client and the server communicate using the HTTP protocol over one or more TCP connections. Today, HTTP version 1

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