Patent ID: 7664876

Claim:
A method, comprising: constructing a virtual overlay network of Web routers defined on top of an internetwork communicatively coupled to one another via point-to-point links; exchanging Web Information Locator by Distance (WILD) inter-Web router communication messages using a WILD protocol between neighbor Web routers by communicating between the neighbor Web routers, and not the other Web routers in the virtual overlay network; constructing WILD tables containing client-to-server distance information, a WILD table constructed by each of the respective Web routers based on the WILD messages having client-to-server distance information received from other neighbor Web routers and each WILD table being stored in a computer-readable medium accessible by the corresponding Web router, wherein the client comprises any information object requesting device, or a group thereof, communicatively coupled to one or more of the Web routers and the server comprises any information object repository accessible by one or more clients; and determining, using the client-to-server distance information contained in one or more of the WILD tables, a best server for servicing a request for a particular information object made by one of the clients.