Patent ID: 7653700
Filing Date: 2010-01-26
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A system for performing client-centric load balancing of multiple globally-dispersed servers, the servers being accessed by clients connecting through an ISP having a domain name server (DNS-ISP), the servers further having an authoritative domain name server (DNS-A) associated therewith and an external domain name server (DNS-B), the system comprising: one of a plurality of load balancing domain name servers (DNS-LBs) deployed in a physical proximity from which the network latency of the clients to the multiple globally-dispersed servers is measured, each DNS-LB comprising a processor and memory, the DNS-LBs having stored therein IP address information of the multiple globally-dispersed servers to be load balanced, the DNS-LBs each sending mapping information to the DNS-B relating the DNS-LB's IP address to an IP address of the DNS-ISP to which the DNS-LB is in a physical proximity from which the network latency of the clients to the globally-dispersed servers is measured, the DNS-LBs determining performance characteristics of each of the multiple globally-dispersed servers, a DNS-LB receiving DNS lookup requests sent from the DNS-LB's respective physically-proximate clients to the DNS-LB's corresponding DNS-ISP, the DNS lookup requests comprising respective hostnames of some of the globally-dispersed servers and having been directed to the DNS-LB by the DNS-B using the IP address of the DNS-LB in the mapping information at the DNS-B, the DNS-LB using the DNS-LB's measurements of network latency from the clients to the globally-dispersed servers to resolve the DNS lookup requests to respective IP addresses of the some of the globally-dispersed servers, where DNS lookup request's hostname can be resolved to multiple of the IP addresses and the DNS-LB returns to the client the IP address that has lower network latency.