Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Remote data accessing – Using interconnected networks
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-31
2002-08-27
Sheikh, Ayaz (Department: 2155)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Remote data accessing
Using interconnected networks
C709S222000, C370S252000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06442602
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to the arts of computer networks, addressing of computers on computer networks, and the administration and management of the addressing schemes. In particular, this invention relates to the arts of Internet Domain Name Servers; creation of Universal Resource Locators, Domain and Subdomain names; and management of virtual subdomains.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STATEMENT
This invention was not developed in conjunction with any Federally-sponsored contract.
MICROFICHE APPENDIX
A microfiche appendix consisting of 70 (seventy) frames on 1 (one) microfiche is submitted herewith, and its content is incorporated in its entirety into this specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The Internet is possibly the greatest advance in information technology since the invention of the Gutenberg movable type printing press. It's impact on society worldwide has truly only been realized to a fraction of its ultimate potential. The Internet is not a single computer network, however, but is a hierarchy of many computer networks, all of which are interconnected by various types of server computers.
Key to success of the Internet is the addressing scheme which was adopted. The addressing scheme allows two types of addressing to be used when one computer transmits data to another computer over the Internet. The first addressing scheme, referred to as the Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, is a numeric address value consisting of four binary octets separated by a period or “dot”, such as AA.BB.CC.DD. Each of the octets is allowed to range in value from 0 to FF hexadecimal, or to 255 decimal. The values towards the left of the address, such as AA and BB, are referred to as network addresses and are used for coarse resolution of the address, while the values towards the right of the address are used for fine resolution of the address, such as CC and DD.
For example, turning to
FIG. 1
, the Internet backbone (
1
) is a set of high-speed data transmission facilities which interconnect several key switching and routing centers. Domain servers (
2
and
6
) may connect directly to the backbone (
1
), or they may connect indirectly to the backbone through other servers and other networks. For example, the domain server (
2
) on the right serves the subnetwork (
4
) on the right, which interconnects one or more client computers (
5
) to each other and to the Internet. Data or messages to be sent to any of the computers on the right-side network (
4
) must be properly addressed to be routed to them. For example, the right domain server (
2
) may be assigned a particular range or set of ranges of IP addresses to serve, such as 155.179.00.XX. A computer on the right-side network (
4
) may be given an address within this range, such as 155.179.00.213 (in decimal). A second computer on the right-side network (
4
) may be given an address such as 155.179.00.111. So, the octets towards the right of the IP address are subaddresses of the server's address. This scheme of addressing and subaddressing is well known within the art.
This subaddressing scheme is designed to allow subnetworking as well. For example, as shown in
FIG. 1
, the left-side domain server (
6
) may be assigned an IP address range of 98.99.YY.XX (in decimal). Computers directly connected to its subnetwork (
8
) would receive addresses within this range, as given in the previous example. However, another subnetwork (
11
), or sub-subnetwork to be literally correct, may be interconnected to the left-side network (
8
) via another domain server, which may be referred to as a subdomain server (
9
). This subdomain server may be given a range of IP addresses within the range of IP addresses for the left-side network domain server (
6
), such as 98.99.192.XX. The internetworking scheme of the Internet is built upon this hierarchical structure of networks and addresses.
The use of the term “domain” with respect to addressing actually implies more than the numeric IP addressing just discussed, in Internet parlance. While computers may deal well with numeric values for addressing, human users do not deal well with long numbers. When the architects of the early versions of the Internet, known as the ARPAnet, considered previous numbering schemes for humans, such as telephone numbers, they recognized this problem. In order to make the Internet more “user-friendly”, a text-based addressing scheme was “overlaid” on top of the numeric IP addressing scheme. Thus, a hierarchy of text-based addresses was defined. At the top of the hierarchy is a domain, which in general a large range of IP addresses or group of addresses. For example, in
FIG. 1
, the right-side domain server (
2
) may be assigned an easy to remember domain name such as “uspto.gov”. Under the Internet domain name convention, the extension of the name following the period or “dot” helps to categorize the type of domain. In this example, “gov” refers to government domains. Coupled with the domain name, “uspto”, a particular domain server is addressed. Other extensions, such as “com” for commercial uses, “edu” for educational institutions and “net” for network services companies, are also available.
In order for messages and data to be actually routed to a computer using a domain name, a translation to a numeric IP address must be made. This is done by a number of distributed “domain name servers” (“DNS”), which can be queried by Internet routers to provide the translation. Each domain server maintains records regarding IP-to-domain name assignments for the domains which it serves. This translation technique and the protocol for updating records is described in the Internet Request For Comment (“RFC”) papers, which are public documents available from InterNIC. Of particular interest are:
(a) RFC1033, Domain Administrators Operations Guide
(b) RFC1034, Domain Names—Concepts and Facilities, and
(c) RFC1035, Domain Name—Implementation and Specification.
These are public documents, and are well known within the art.
Continuing with the analogical structure to numeric IP addressing, domain names may be broken into two types of more resolute addresses. The first type is based upon directory structure of the file system on the server. For example, a subdirectory on the US Patent and Trademark Office's web server which contains general information might be named “gen info”, and could be addressed as “www.uspto.gov/gen_info”. Subnetworks and virtual subnetworks may be addressed by prefixing the general domain name with a subdomain name or names. For example, a subnetwork which serves only the trademark division of the US Patent and Trademark Office may be given the subdomain name “tm”, allowing the subdomain server (such as 9 in
FIG. 1
) to be addressed as “tm.uspto.gov”. The two addressing schemes can be combined, such as “tm.uspto.gov/gen_info”, which would access a file named “gen_info.html” located in the root directory of the subdomain server for “tm” under the domain server for “uspto.gov”. Alternatively, if a subdirectory called “gen_info” exists on the subdomain server “tm”, a file named “index.html” may be accessed by a web browser which is pointed to this fill address.
Virtual subdomains are special cases of subdomains, which may or may not actually refer to a separate subdomain server from the domain server, but may refer to a directory or other software facility on the domain server. This is referred to as “hosting” the subdomain on the domain server. Later, if the owner of the subdomain desires, a separate subnetwork may be established with a separate subdomain server, and the routing tables on the domain server are updated to reflect a “pass through” routing to the new subdomain server.
The routing tables for domains, subdomains, sub-subdomains, etc., are typically implemented as simple text files stored on the disk subsystem of the various servers, such as the disk subsystems (
7
and
3
) shown in FIG.
1
. To promote the easy interchange and exchange of routing definitions, RFC1033 defines standard form
Dinh Khanh Quang
Frantz Robert H.
Sheikh Ayaz
Web and Net Computing
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