Method and system for remote access to computer devices via client managed server buffers exclusively allocated to the client
US6549934B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 1, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 15, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 1, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/9078
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and system for providing remote access and control of devices such as disks, tape drives and modems across a network. A client driver intercepts I/O requests that are destined for a device which an application essentially considers a local device, such as for purposes of disk mirroring. The client driver queues and dequeues the I/O request, marshals it with header information and data, and sends it as a message to the server over one of possibly multiple connections to the server. A server driver unmarshalls the message, places it in a preallocated buffer as designated by the client, and generates an I/O request therefrom directed to the server device. The server responds with a completion status. The client side manages the server buffers, and the client classifies and partitions large requests into one or more segments that fit the server buffers. Sequential processing also may be ensured. The client also handles cancel operations on the remote device, and the client may also load balance across the multiple paths, by selecting a connection based on criteria including pending message size and dynamic performance measurements of the connections.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.