Ultra-Thin Client Session Mobility via Local UI Server Redirection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultra-thin-client architectures face significant latency issues when accessing remote UI-servers over large distances, rendering session mobility ineffective due to propagation delays, which cannot be mitigated by increasing bandwidth alone.
Innovation Solution
A system that utilizes a Connection Assignment Server (CAS) to identify the location of an ultra-thin-client and redirect its user-session to a local UI-server, reducing latency by minimizing the distance between the client and the server, allowing the ultra-thin-client to resume sessions through a geographically closer local UI-server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If ultra-thin-client accesses remote UI-server over large distances, then session mobility is achieved, but latency becomes unacceptably large due to propagation delay
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes multiple UI server connections at different geographic locations before the client needs to access them. When the client moves to a new location, the system has already prepared local UI servers that can immediately take over the session, eliminating the delay of establishing new connections and reducing latency caused by long-distance access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a session management system that acts as an intermediary between the ultra-thin-client and multiple UI servers. This intermediary monitors client location, manages session state across different servers, and seamlessly transitions the client connection from one UI server to another based on geographic proximity, thereby maintaining low latency while preserving session mobility.
2Extent of automation
If ultra-thin-client connects to remote UI-server, then centralized session management is achieved, but propagation delay renders the architecture ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The system distributes UI servers across multiple geographic locations, each serving local clients. Instead of all clients connecting to a single centralized server, each client connects to the nearest local UI server, which provides the same centralized management capabilities but with significantly reduced propagation delay due to shorter physical distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimension centralized architecture to a multi-dimensional distributed architecture. By adding the geographic dimension to server deployment, the system maintains centralized session management functionality while allowing clients to connect from different geographic dimensions, thereby reducing the effective distance and propagation delay for each individual connection.
3Quantity of substance
If bandwidth is increased to reduce latency, then data transmission capacity is improved, but propagation delay remains unchanged due to finite velocity of light
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes multiple UI server connections at different geographic locations before the client needs to access them. When the client moves to a new location, the system has already prepared local UI servers that can immediately take over the session, eliminating the delay of establishing new connections and reducing latency caused by long-distance access.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that supports low-latency session-mobility for an ultra-thin-client. During system operation, an ultra-thin-client sends a location-identifier to a Connection Assignment Server (CAS), which facilitates communication with a user-interface (UI) server, wherein the location-identifier specifies the current location of the ultra-thin-client. Next, the ultra-thin-client receives the address of a local UI-server from the CAS, wherein the CAS selects the local UI-server based on the location-identifier. The ultra-thin-client then sends a user-session identifier to the local UI-server. This allows the local UI-server to retrieve a user-session-image for a user-session from a user-session-image repository. Note that, before moving to the current location, the ultra-thin-client was previously communicating with a remote UI-server, which stored the user-session-image in the user-session-image repository. Next, the ultra-thin-client establishes a user-session connection with the local UI-server. In this way, the system enables the ultra-thin-client to resume the user-session through the local UI-server. Note that the system reduces the delay experienced by the user because it enables the ultra-thin-client to carry on the user-session with the local UI-server instead of the remote UI-server.