Intermediary Cache Redirection with IP Address Preservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data communication networks face challenges in maintaining the integrity and transparency of internet protocol (IP) addresses during cache redirection, particularly in preserving the original source and destination IP addresses when content is not cached, leading to potential disruptions in client-server communications.
Innovation Solution
An intermediary device intercepts client requests, modifies them to include original IP addresses, and uses data link layer properties to ensure these addresses are preserved throughout the request path, even on cache misses, by forwarding requests and responses through cache servers while maintaining the original IP addresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an intermediary device intercepts and modifies client requests to check cache, then cache redirection efficiency is improved, but original IP address integrity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a header field as an intermediary carrier to preserve the original IP address information while allowing the request to be redirected through the cache server. The header acts as a mediator that holds the original IP address separately from the modified request routing information, enabling both cache redirection and IP address preservation to coexist without conflict.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary device performs preliminary extraction and preservation of the original IP address into a header field before redirecting the request to the cache server. This preliminary action ensures that the original IP address is captured and stored in a protected location (the header) before any modifications to the request routing occur, preventing loss of the original IP information.
2Reliability
If the cache server returns the request back to the intermediary upon cache miss, then cache checking process is completed, but IP address modification propagates through the request path
Solution Approach 1:
The header field serves as a stable intermediary that maintains the original IP address throughout the entire cache checking process. When the cache server returns the request after a cache miss, the header continues to hold the original IP address, ensuring that the destination server receives the correct original IP information despite the request having been redirected through the cache server.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous preservation of the original IP address in the header field throughout the entire request lifecycle - from initial interception by the intermediary, through cache server redirection, to final delivery at the destination server. This continuity ensures that the original IP address information remains intact and available at every stage of the process.
3Loss of information
If the intermediary preserves original IP addresses through header modifications, then IP address transparency is improved, but request processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the original IP address information from the request routing path and places it into a dedicated header field. This extraction separates the IP address preservation function from the request routing modifications, allowing the intermediary to modify request routing for cache checking while independently preserving the original IP address in the header without affecting the routing logic.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure presents systems and methods for maintaining original source and destination IP addresses of a request while performing intermediary cache redirection. An intermediary receives a request from a client destined to a server identifying a client IP address as a source IP address and a server IP address as a destination IP address. The intermediary transmits the request to a cache server, the request maintaining original IP addresses and identifying a MAC address of the cache server as the destination MAC address. The intermediary receives the request from the cache server responsive to a cache miss, the received request maintaining the original source and destination IP addresses. The intermediary identifying that the third request is coming from the cache server via one or more data link layer properties of the third transport layer connection. The intermediary transmits to the server the request identifying the client IP address as the source IP address and the server IP address as the destination IP address.