Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer protocol implementing – Computer-to-computer data framing
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-14
2001-10-23
Rinehart, Mark H. (Department: 2152)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer protocol implementing
Computer-to-computer data framing
C709S224000, C709S225000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308216
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computer networks and more particularly to using quality-of-service (Q-o-S) and other network resource information to facilitate routing of service requests in a client-server network such as the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
The World Wide Web is the Internet's multimedia information retrieval system. In the Web environment, client machines effect transactions to Web servers using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is a known application protocol providing users access to files (e.g., text, graphics, images, sound, video, etc.) using a standard page description language known as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML provides basic document formatting and allows the developer to specify “links” to other servers and files. In the Internet paradigm, a network path to a server is identified by a so-called Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having a special syntax for defining a network connection. Use of an HTML-compatible browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer) at a client machine involves specification of a link via the URL. In response, the client makes a request to the server (sometimes referred to as a “Web site”) identified in the link and, in return, receives in return a document or other object formatted according to HTML.
Web site operators desire to monitor the quality-of-service they provide to Web clients in order to attempt to rectify, to the extent practicable, any identifiable service problems. To this end, various Q-o-S monitoring solutions have been proposed and some have been implemented, with mixed results. One approach is to place dedicated monitors or machines at a selected plurality (e.g., 30-40) Internet Service Provider (ISP) or other locations throughout the Internet and to collect various types of usage statistics that are then sold or distributed back to Web site operators interested in such information. The information measured by these monitors, however, may only represent only a small fraction of the total paths used to connect to any given large server. In addition, such monitors are useless for resolving questions about the quality-of-service (e.g., server response times) for requests issued by way of an ISP that is not connected to the set of monitors.
Quality-of-service data is also of interest to Internet Service Providers. Typically, a given Web client may access the Internet through use of a dialup (POTS) connection to an ISP facility. The ISP normally includes a gateway that allows users to send and receive IP packets to and from the Internet, and this gateway also provides basic routing functionality. Current ISP gateways, however, do not have the capability of capturing, managing and/or using quality-of-service and other dynamically-collected network resource information to facilitate routing of service requests.
This is the problem addressed by the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus a primary object of the present invention to control routing or forwarding of a service request (e.g., an HTTP request) in a client-server network environment using one or more types of information including measured quality-of-service information, network resource information, information about the source of the request, information about the destination for the request, or information about the service request type.
It is a further object of this invention to route service requests by testing given routing criteria against measured quality-of-service statistics and/or network “state” data.
It is yet another object of this invention to determine how to route a given service request (e.g., an HTTP request for a Web document) over a portion of the Internet using dynamically-varying quality-of-service and/or network resource availability information, together with service request source and destination information.
A further object of this invention is to manage the collection and use of quality-of-service information in an open computer network environment to facilitate forwarding of service requests throughout the network.
It is still another more specific object of this invention to control routing of Web service requests based, in part, on Q-o-S information compiled from Internet clients.
Yet another object of this invention it to provide a given service level within a computer network by establishing and maintaining routing policies to which “dynamic” quality-of-service and/or other network resource information may then be applied to route service requests.
According to the present invention, an apparatus (e.g., a proxy server) for providing such operation as described above is advantageously located at an outbound “edge” of an administrative domain or at an inbound “edge” of an ISP or other network facility. The apparatus includes a dispatching mechanism or “dispatcher.” The dispatcher has a database associated therewith in which information about a “current state” of the network or some resource therein is collected and maintained. The “current state” information is generally of two types: quality-of-service (Q-o-S) information associated with transactions involving a particular Web server, or more general network resource availability information. Examples of the former include, without limitation, information about one or more “exception events” associated with Web server transactions such as a broken hypertext link, the end-to-end server response time exceeding some predetermined value, an Internet delay (i.e., the roundtrip time to service a transaction request excluding the server response time) exceeding some predetermined value, or the like. Examples of network resource availability information include, without limitation, network “exception events” such as a router outage notification, a notification that a particular router ha a load exceeding some threshold, a network bottleneck notification, or the like. According to the invention, a routing “policy” is defined at the dispatcher using a set of one or more routing rules. A particular routing policy may also take into consideration the particular source or destination for the service request, or the type of service request, in formulating how the request is to be forwarded.
As service requests arrive at the apparatus, at least one of the requests is routed to a destination using the current state information and the routing policy. Where the service request is routed may also depend on the source of the request, the destination for the request, or the particular type of service request. Generalizing, a Web-based routing method begins by establishing a routing policy including at least one routing rule. Quality-of-service information associated with one or more Web servers is being periodically collected. Network state information is being periodically received from other available sources. In response to a new HTTP service request, the quality-of-service information and/or other network state information is applied to the routing policy to determine how to route the service request.
In a preferred embodiment, at least one routing rule of the routing policy includes a condition and an action. The condition preferably defines one or more “state” events or conditions, and the action preferably defines some form of routing information. As a given service request is received at the apparatus, the condition portion of each routing rule is evaluated using the then-current state information (which changes dynamically as a function of relevant Q-o-S or network resource availability variations). If the condition portion of an applicable routing rule is met, the action (as defined in the rule) is taken. The routing rule (or some portion thereof) may be selectively modified by an administrator as needed to maintain a given service level.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects and features of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applicatio
Goldszmidt German Sergio
Turek John J. E.
Vetter Brian Jay
Burwell Joseph R.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Judson David
LaBaw Jeffrey S.
Rinehart Mark H.
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