Patent ID: 7328256

Claim:
A method for distributing files across a network, comprising: receiving a request at a file server to download a file to a client; if the file sewer is not currently downloading the file, servicing the request by commencing a download stream for the file on a multicast port; if the file sewer is currently downloading the file, servicing the request by, remembering a marked location in the file, wherein the marked location in the file relates to a current packet number of the download stream on the multicast port, continuing to download the file until an end of the file, thereby allowing the client to receive the remainder of the file, and downloading the file from the beginning of the file to the marked location, thereby allowing the client to receive previously transmitted portions of the file; receiving at the file server a notice from the client that a specified packet was not received; and inserting the specified packet into the download stream, wherein if notices are received from multiple clients that the specified packet was not received, inserting the specified packet into the download stream only once to satisfy the notices.