Method and apparatus of improving network performance and network availability in a client-server network by transparently replicating a network service

Claim 2

A client-server network comprising: a plurality of client computer systems, each of the client computer systems having a network interface; a plurality of server computer systems, each of the server computer systems having a network interface; and a replicator system connecting the plurality of client computer systems to the plurality of server computer systems, the replicator system transparently processing a plurality of requests from the client systems to a plurality of services resident in the server systems.

Claim 3

The client-server network according to claim 1 wherein the replicator system comprises: means for receiving a connection request and a plurality of subsequent packets of data associated with the connection request from a first client computer system to a first server computer system; means for processing the connection request according to a plurality of policy parameters; means for storing the connection request; means for forwarding the connection request to one of the plurality of server computer systems; means for receiving a reply from the one of the plurality of server computer systems in response to the connection request; means for processing the reply; means for storing the reply; and means for forwarding the reply to the first client computer system.

Claim 4

The client-server network according to claim 2 wherein the means for processing the connection request and the subsequent data packets comprises; means for checking a first destination address of the connection request; means for relating the first destination address to a second destination address according to a set of policy parameters; means for storing the first destination address and the second destination address in a table in the replicator system; means for detecting when the connection is aborted or closed.

Claim 5

The client-server network according to claim 3 wherein the set of policy parameters are selected form one of the following: a performance variable of the first server computer system and a performance variable of the second sever computer system; a plurality of parameters representing past operations, such plurality including round robin scheduling and affinity scheduling; a failover parameter, the failover parameter indicating a system status of the first server computer system and the second server computer system; and a load balance system parameter.

Claim 6

The client-server network according to claim 1 wherein the replicator system comprises: a first replicator system; a second replicator system; a connection between the first replicator system and the second replicator system, the connection used to coordinate processing in the first replicator system with processing in the second replicator system.

Claim 7

An arrangement for interfacing a plurality of client systems and a plurality of server systems in a computer network comprising: a first network interface to receive a connection request from a first client system, the connection request containing an origination address indicating the first client system and a destination address indicating a first server system; a memory to process the connection request and a plurality of subsequent data packets associated with the connection request and relate the destination address to one of the plurality of server system according to a set of policy parameters; a storage subsystem to store the connection request and the relationship; a second network interface to send the connection request to the one of the plurality of server systems; a third network interface to receive an acknowledgment packet from the one of the plurality of server systems to the first client system; the memory processing the acknowledgment packet according to the relationship; and a fourth network interface to send the acknowledgment to the first client system.

Claim 8

An arrangement for interfacing a plurality of client systems and a plurality of server systems in a computer network comprising: a first network interface to receive a connection request from a first client system, the connection request containing an origination address indicating the first client system and a destination address indicating a first server system; a memory to process the connection request and a plurality of subsequent data packets associated with the connection request and relate the destination address to one of the plurality of server system according to a set of policy parameters; a storage subsystem to store the connection request and the relationship; a second network interface to send the connection request to the one of the plurality of server systems; a third network interface to receive an acknowledgment packet from the one of the plurality of server systems to the first client system; the memory processing the acknowledgment packet according to the relationship; and a fourth network interface to send the acknowledgment to the first client system.

Claim 9

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the first network interface and the fourth network interface are a single network interface.

Claim 10

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the second network interface and the third network interface are a single network interface.

Claim 11

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the first network interface, the second network interface, the third network interface, and the fourth network interface is a single network interface.

Claim 12

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the set of policy parameters is selected from one of the following: a performance variable of the first server system and a performance variable of a second server system; a failover parameter, the failover parameter indicating a system status of the first server system and the second server system; and a load balance system parameter.

Claim 13

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the computer network uses the TCP/IP protocol.

Claim 14

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the computer network uses the UDP/IP protocol.

Claim 15

The arrangement according to claim 6 wherein the memory is non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

Claim 18

The method of improving performance and availability in a network according to claim 14 where the set of policy parameters is selected from one of the following: a performance variable of a first server and a performance variable of a second server; a failover parameter, the failover parameter indicating a system status of the first server and the second server; a plurality of parameters representing past operations, such plurality including round robin scheduling and affinity scheduling; and a load balance system parameter.