Patent ID: 7565399

Claim:
A method comprising: storing a plurality of versions of an item of content in a content cache within an intermediary network node, wherein each of said versions is a result of processing the item of content using one or more of a plurality of applications; receiving, at the intermediary network node, a client request for the item of content, the client request being associated with an indication of a processing requirement for processing the item of content with a combination of the plurality of applications prior to transferring the item of content to the client; determining an order in which the plurality of applications is to be invoked to fulfill the processing requirement; computing a pipeline key based on an identifier of each of the plurality of applications and the order for invoking the plurality of applications; computing a cache key for the item of content based on the identifier of the item of content and the pipeline key; searching the content cache within the intermediary network node using the computed cache key for matching content including one of said versions conforming to the processing requirement; determining, at the intermediary network node, whether the matching content is currently valid; and if the matching content is currently valid, transferring the matching content to the client.