Patent ID: 8321580

Claim:
A method for communicating data over a communication network, the method comprising: a first apparatus receiving a data request from a first computer; the first apparatus sending the data request to a second apparatus; the second apparatus sending the data request to a second computer; the second apparatus receiving response data from the second computer, wherein the second computer generates the response data based on the data request; the second apparatus determining whether a portion of the response data is locally accessible to the first apparatus; in response to determining that the portion of the response data is locally accessible to the first apparatus, the second apparatus modifying the response data to obtain modified response data, wherein said modifying includes replacing the portion of the response data with a reference to the portion of the response data, and wherein the modified response data instructs the first apparatus to use the reference to the portion of the response data to retrieve the portion of the response data from a storage that is locally accessible to the first apparatus; the second apparatus sending the modified response data to the first apparatus; the first apparatus retrieving the portion of the response data based on the reference to the portion of the response data, wherein the portion of the response data is retrieved from the storage that is locally accessible to the first apparatus; and the first apparatus sending the response data to the first computer.