Patent ID: 7610333

Claim:
A method of identifying a predetermined number of computers within a computer network which satisfy one or more specified conditions, the method comprising: communicating a request from an originating computer to one or more of the computers in the network a request message which includes said one or more specified conditions and a token value which is indicative of a number of computer devices to be located by the message; receiving said request message at subsequent computers and at each subsequent computer which receives a request message processing the message, performing the following: determining if it is able to satisfy the one or more conditions specified in the request message and if so, decrementing the token value within the received request message and identifying itself to the request originating computer, and then determining if the, possibly decremented, token value in the received request message indicates that at least one further computer device is required to be located and if so, forwarding one or more daughter messages on to a subsequent computer or computers within the computer network unless a restriction criterion has been met, wherein each daughter message includes said one or more specified conditions and a token value such that the token value if only one daughter message is forwarded, or the sum of the token values of the daughter messages if more than one daughter message is forwarded, equals the, possibly decremented, token value of the received request message.