Patent ID: 8965955
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of redirecting requests by an intermediary to a horizontally deployed Wide Area Network optimization device, the method comprising steps of: (a) receiving, by an intermediary device deployed between a plurality of clients and one or more servers, via a first transport layer connection, a first request from a client to access a server, the first request modified by a first Wide Area Network (WAN) optimization device deployed between the client and the intermediary device to include information in a first option field of a transport layer processable by a second WAN optimization device; (b) determining, by the intermediary device responsive to a redirection policy, to send the first request to the second WAN optimization device instead of the server; (c) establishing, by the intermediary device, a second transport layer connection with the second WAN optimization device deployed horizontally to the intermediary device, the horizontally deployed second WAN optimization device communicating with the intermediary device via a first network path that is different from and not a part of a second network path over which network traffic between the plurality of clients and one or more servers traverses the intermediary device; and (d) transmitting, by the intermediary device, the first request to the second WAN optimization device via the second transport layer connection, the intermediary device maintaining the information from the first option field of the first request in a second option field of a transport layer of the first request; (e) receiving, by the intermediary device, the first request from the second WAN optimization device via the first network path, the first request modified by the second WAN optimization device; (f) determining, by the intermediary device, based on content of the modified first request, that the modified first request received from the second WAN optimization device has been processed by the second WAN optimization device; and (g) transmitting, by the intermediary device, the modified first request to the server via the second network path responsive to determining that the modified first request received from the second WAN optimization device has been processed by the second WAN optimization device.