Load direction mechanism
US6138159A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 11, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 24, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 11, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L67/1034
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
This disclosure provides a transparent load direction mechanism between multiple host computers that enables continued processing of client requests notwithstanding failure of individual host computers. A client computer system is provided with two URLs for a given web site, including a primary URL and a reference URL; the reference URL is the generic address for the web site, and is used for bookmarks and URL display, e.g., "www.website.com;" the primary URL is used for actual communication with an assigned one of several parallel servers which service the web site, i.e., "www.website4.com." The client computer normally directs communications to the assigned server, but if a failure condition is detected, i.e., server "website4" goes off-line, the reference URL is used for re-entry to the web site and a new server assigned to service the client computer (i.e., "www.website2.com"). The disclosed mechanism is preferably implemented as a modified client browser, but it can be also be implemented elsewhere, such as in a communications node.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.