Proxy Location Server Redirects Clients to Surrogate Payload
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Solution Overview
Problem
In client-server relationships, redirecting clients from a primary payload server to a secondary server is challenging, especially when administrative entities are uncooperative, leading to increased administrative difficulty and costs due to the need to update location information on multiple clients.
Innovation Solution
A proxy location server redirects local clients to a surrogate payload server by supplying amended location information, allowing the surrogate server to provide services identical to the primary server without requiring each client to be programmed individually, thus avoiding direct communication with the primary server and reducing administrative burdens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If clients are directly programmed to access the primary payload server, then service delivery is straightforward, but administrative difficulty and costs increase when server location changes require updating multiple clients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a location server as an intermediary between clients and payload servers. The location server stores and provides location information for payload servers, allowing clients to query the current server location without being hard-coded with fixed addresses. When payload servers are relocated, only the location server needs updating, not individual clients, thus resolving the administrative burden while maintaining system simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If clients access the primary payload server directly, then network communication is simple, but network latency and costs increase due to distant server locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables local sites to establish surrogate payload servers that provide services identical to the primary payload server but are geographically closer to local clients. The location server is configured to provide different location information based on the client's location, directing local clients to local surrogate servers and remote clients to the primary server. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining communication simplicity while reducing network latency through localized service delivery.
3Reliability
If the primary payload server is relocated to improve service, then service quality improves, but administrative burden increases due to needing to update location information on multiple clients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a system where clients automatically query the location server to obtain current payload server location information. The location server maintains an up-to-date registry of payload server locations and automatically provides the correct location to clients upon request. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual client configuration updates when servers are relocated, thereby maintaining service availability while significantly reducing administrative burden.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a first location server, in response to a request from a client to access an object, determines whether a first location information stored at the first location server indicates locations of instance(s) of the object. The first location server, in response to a determination that the first location information indicates the locations of the instances of the object, determines a first location of a first instance of the object at a first payload server and a second location of a second instance of the object at a second payload server from the first location information. The first location server determines priority values of the first and second locations. The first location server generates a reply to the request, the reply indicating the first and second locations of the first and second instances of the object, and the priority values of the first and second locations.