Patent ID: 6505254
Filing Date: 2003-01-07
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A replica routing system, comprising:a processor; and a plurality of routers; the processor being programmed to transmit a request to one of the routers; the router being programmed to perform steps of: A) to receive the request; B) to compare an address from which the request purports to originate with coverage zone information for the router that received the request and a hierarchy of a plurality of routers that are its progeny, the coverage zone information being stored in a database associated with the router that received the request, the coverage zone information for the router that received the request including a preferred coverage zone and a regular coverage zone, the preferred coverage zone being a restrictive set of addresses for which the router believes that it would be at least as good as any other router at serving a request from addresses in the restrictive set of addresses, the regular coverage zone is a larger set of addresses than the preferred coverage zone for which the router will be willing to serve if the request came from one of the larger set addresses, but for which the router does not know whether it is an optimal router; C) if the router that received the request is not within a preferred coverage zone as identified in step B, to redirect the processor to a router for which the address is within the preferred coverage zone; and D) if a router is not identified in step C for which the address is within a preferred coverage zone, but a router other than the router that received the request is identified in step B for which the which the address is within a regular coverage zone, to redirect the processor to the router for which the address is within the regular coverage zone.