Patent ID: 7421728

Claim:
A receiver unit in a computer network which interconnects a plurality of servers and a plurality of receiver units, wherein the plurality of receiver units are capable of sending requests to a plurality of destinations for processing, the receiver unit being configured to implement a method of controlling and scheduling when a request is sent to a destination, the receiver unit comprising: memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed, implement said method of controlling and scheduling, the method including: receiving at a receiver unit a first communication that includes (i) scheduling information for determining when a request associated with the first communication should be sent to a destination for processing, the scheduling information being under the control of an author of the first communication and being capable of differing from one receiver unit to another, and (ii) an indication of the destination to receive and process the request associated with the first communication; preparing the request to be processed by the destination and storing the request at the receiver unit; at the receiver unit waiting a period of time determined by the scheduling information before attempting to the send the request to the destination; and after the period of time, automatically sending the request to the destination for processing.