Patent ID: 8447871

Claim:
A traffic management apparatus for directing communications over a network between an identified client and at least one server, the apparatus comprising: a memory configured to store a data structure containing a plurality data flows along with corresponding flow signatures; a network interface coupled to the memory, the network interface having a data component configured to receive and transmit network data packets over one or more networks, wherein the network interface receives a resource request from a client, the network interface further configured to: identify a flow signature associated with the resource request to identify the client; and access the data structure in the memory and compare at least a portion of the identified flow signature with the flow signatures of other data flows; and identify a related data flow from the data structure that is related to the data flow of the resource request, the related data flow having an associated routing instruction which causes the network interface to directly: select an identified server to handle the resource request from the identified client if the number of existing connections between the identified server and the client has not exceeded the predetermined number of allowed connections; and select a new server to handle the resource request from the identified client if the number of existing connections between the identified server and the identified client exceeds the predetermined number of allowed connections.