Patent ID: 7630381

Claim:
A method for distributing an update via a network, comprising: receiving via a first network interface of a first computing device a first request for a first update from a request source, wherein the request source is a second computing device connected to the network by a second network interface; receiving from the request source a commitment that the request source will serve as a redistribution source available to further distribute the first update to one or more other requesting sources; attempting to connect to the request source via the network to obtain the first update; determining whether the attempt to connect to the request source to obtain the first update was successful; receiving from the request source a second request for a second update; determining whether the request source will serve as a redistribution source available to further distribute the second update to one or more other requesting sources; and providing the second update to the request source on a priority basis, when it is determined that the request source will serve as a redistribution source for the second update, and that the attempt to connect to the request source to obtain the first update was successful.