Patent ID: 7353291

Claim:
A server determination apparatus, comprising: first receiving means for receiving a first inquiry from a first one of a plurality of information distribution servers as to which one of the plurality of information distribution servers a client should access based on a first access request received by the first one of the plurality of information distribution servers from the client; collection means for collecting, from the plurality of information distribution servers, network state information between the client and each of the plurality of information distribution servers; first server determination means for determining, based on a logical distance between the client and each of the plurality of information distribution servers, which one of the plurality of information distribution servers should be accessed by the client which submitted the first access request to the first one of the plurality of the information distribution servers; first informing means for informing the first information distribution server of the one of the plurality of information distribution servers that the client should access determined by the first server determination means; second receiving means for receiving a second inquiry from the determined one of the plurality of information distribution servers as to which one of the plurality of information distribution servers the client should access based on a second access request received by the determined one of the plurality of information distribution servers from the client, wherein the second access request received by the determined one of the information distribution servers is initiated by the client in response to receipt by the client from the first one of the information distribution servers information indicating the determined one of the plurality of information distribution servers informed by the first informing means; second server determination means for determining, based on network state information collected by said collecting means between the time that the first inquiry is received by the first receiving means and the time that the second inquiry is received by the second receiving means, which one of the plurality of information distribution servers should be accessed by the client; and second informing means for informing the one of the plurality of information distribution servers that submitted the inquiry received by the second receiving means which one of the plurality of information distribution servers that the client should access determined by the second server determination means.