Patent ID: 7725588

Claim:
A switching method, at a switch device which is logically disposed between at least one client and at least one server for managing at least one object, for transferring a request for at least one said object transmitted from said client to said server which manages at least one said object, and for transferring a reply against said request from said server to said client which is a source of said request, said switching method comprising the steps of: receiving a request from a client, the request including an object ID comprising an original object ID identifying an object, and server identification information identifying a server, among a plurality of servers, that manages the object identified by the original object ID, wherein the original object ID is created by the server identified by the server identification information; determining address information of the server using a first table for managing a combination of said address information of said server and said server identification information; deleting the server identification information from the object ID; transmitting the request which includes the object ID from which the server identification information is deleted to the server based on the determined address information; receiving a reply to the transmitted request from the server; if the received reply includes the original object ID, inserting into the original object ID the server identification information, and transmitting the reply to the client after inserting the server identification information into the original object ID included in the reply; and if the received reply does not include the original object ID, transmitting the reply to the client without inserting the server identification information into the reply.