Patent · US Expired

System for responding to a resource request

US6092178A · kind A · utility

389Cited by
11References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 3, 1998
Grant dateJul 18, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 3, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L67/1038
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A trigger is provided in association with a network naming service, such as DNS (Domain Name Service), that handles client requests for an application. The trigger comprises a set of executable instructions referenced by a resource record associated with an identifier of the application. In response to a client request concerning the application, the resource record is retrieved and the instructions are executed. In one implementation of a trigger, a DNS server provides load balancing among a plurality of servers within a network name space (e.g., domain or sub-domain) offering an application program (or replicated service) that is known by a virtual server name. A policy is selected for choosing a preferred server from the plurality of servers according to a specified status or operational characteristic of the application instances, such as the least-loaded instance of the application or the instance with the fastest response time. The policy is encapsulated within multiple levels of objects or modules distributed among the plurality of servers and the DNS server. The objects collect and assemble the servers' status and operational characteristics. The information collected by th…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.