Patent ID: 7191180

Claim:
A file server for retrieving and transmitting files in response to received requests, in a communications network including a data server and a data distribution system located between the data server and the file server, the file server comprising: i) a request input for receiving file requests from client equipment; ii) a request monitoring means for monitoring received file requests; iii) a subscription request output for requesting future automatic file updates; iv) file retrieval means for retrieving a file identified in a received file request from the data server and transmitting it to the client equipment making the request; and v) a cache for storing local copies of files for which file requests have been received; wherein the request monitoring means is arranged to monitor received file requests, and, in the event of a predetermined condition being met for a file identified by at least one request, to trigger the subscription request output to output a subscription request with an associated identifier for the identified file to the data distribution system, wherein the subscription request causes the data distribution system to thereafter automatically forward to the file server updates for the identified file that have been pushed to the data distribution system from the data server when the identifier associated with the subscription request is determined by the data distribution system to correspond to an identifier associated with the file server updates for the identified file that have been pushed to the data distribution system.