Patent ID: 8612585

Claim:
In a network device situated in a communication path between a first network node and a second network node, the first network node comprising a server belonging to a first group of servers, a method for maintaining at least one selected from the group consisting of application data, instructions, and rule sets, comprising: at the network device, performing the steps of: intercepting a first network message from the first network node and intended for the second network node, the first network message comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of application data, instructions, and rule sets; storing a portion of the first network message at a storage device associated with the network device, the stored portion comprising at least one of application data, instructions, and rule sets; removing the stored portion from the first network message to generate a groomed network message, the groomed network message comprising an index identifying the stored portion; transmitting the groomed network message from the network device to the second network node; intercepting a second network message from the second network node and intended for a server belonging to the first group of servers, the second network message comprising index data identifying the stored portion; responsive to intercepting the second network message, retrieving, from the storage device associated with the network device, the portion identified by the index data; and transmitting the second network message and the retrieved portion to a selected server belonging to the first group of servers.