Patent ID: 6173322
Filing Date: 2001-01-09
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
A network request manager for handling client requests received from clients via a digital network, comprising:a server module configured to receive a client request from the digital network;a rules module configured to apply one or more static rules to said client request to select a plurality of content servers;a policy module configured to select a target content server from said plurality of content servers according to a dynamic metric;a connection module configured to cause a connection to be established with said target content server so that said target content server may service said client request; anda data cache configured to store data retrieved from said target content server according to said client request, said data cache further configured to service said client request whenever said client request seeks data stored in said data cache, thereby enabling the network request manager to respond immediately to said client request without having to select and query said target content server;wherein said connection module comprises a redirect module configured to respond to said client request with redirection information when redirection criteria are satisfied, thereby allowing the client to directly establish said connection to said target content server.