System and method for caching identification and location information in a computer network

Claim 3

The method of claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented step of reinitializing the cache.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of detecting access requests that seek to modify a cache-enabled component identifier, and invalidating cache tuples which contain that identifier.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of: comparing a currently requested operation on a component with cached information about a previously requested operation on the component; reading the cache to obtain information about the location of the component; and revising the cached location information if the comparing step detects a predetermined difference between the previously requested operation and the currently requested operation.

Claim 6

The method of claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of identifying a requested operation to be performed on a master replica, and redirecting the operation to a non-master replica to reduce the load on the master replica.

Claim 7

The method of claim 5, wherein the redirecting step includes modifying the cache.

Claim 8

The method of claim 1, wherein the placing step places a database-wide component identifier that identifies a database component.

Claim 9

The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an access request in response to a directory service request.

Claim 12

The method of claim 9, further comprising the computer-implemented step of reinitializing the cache.

Claim 13

The method of claim 9, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of detecting access requests that seek to modify a cache-enabled component identifier, and invalidating cache tuples which contain that identifier.

Claim 14

The method of claim 9, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of: comparing a currently requested operation on a component with cached information about a previously requested operation on the component; reading the cache to obtain information about the location of the component; and revising the cached location information if the comparing step detects a predetermined difference between the previously requested operation and the currently requested operation.

Claim 15

The method of claim 9, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of identifying a requested operation to be performed on a master replica, and redirecting the operation to a non-master replica to reduce the load on the master replica.

Claim 16

The method of claim 13, wherein the redirecting step includes modifying the cache.

Claim 17

The method of claim 9, wherein the placing step places a database-wide component identifier that identifies a database component.

Claim 18

The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving step receives an access request in response to a directory service request.

Claim 19

A computer network comprising: a client computer having a processor, a memory, and a means for receiving a component access request which identifies a requested component; a tuple cache residing on the client computer, the tuple cache capable of holding at least one tuple, each tuple containing a component identifier which identifies a cache-enabled component and a corresponding location identifier which identifies a location in the network at which the cache-enabled component resides, wherein the tuple contains a replica flag, and the replica flag distinguishes between a master replica used for partitioning and at least one other replica; means for placing a tuple in the tuple cache; means for determining whether the requested component is cache-enabled; and means for servicing the access request by sending a corresponding request over a network communication link to a server computer if the requested component is not cache-enabled, and servicing the access request by using the cached location identifier if the requested component is cache-enabled, wherein the server computer and the client computer are separate computers connected by the network communication link, the network further characterized in that the means operate to reduce network traffic and server queries by first caching and then later referring to location information instead of gathering that information anew for each request.

Claim 20

A computer network comprising: a client computer having a processor, a memory, and a means for receiving a component access request which identifies a requested component; a tuple cache residing on the client computer, the tuple cache capable of holding at least one tuple, each tuple containing a component identifier which identifies a cache-enabled component and a corresponding location identifier which identifies a location in the network at which the cache-enabled component resides, wherein the tuple contains a replica flag, and the replica flag distinguishes between a master replica used for partitioning and at least one other replica; means for placing a tuple in the tuple cache; means for determining whether the requested component is cache-enabled; and means for servicing the access request by sending a corresponding request over a network communication link to a server computer if the requested component is not cache-enabled, and servicing the access request by using the cached location identifier if the requested component is cache-enabled, wherein the server computer and the client computer are separate computers connected by the network communication link, the network further characterized in that the means operate to reduce network traffic and server queries by first caching and then later referring to location information instead of gathering that information anew for each request.

Claim 21

The system of claim 17, wherein the server computer and the client computer are separate computers connected by a network link.

Claim 22

The system of claim 17, wherein the location identifier contains a list of network addresses specifying at least one server at which the corresponding cache-enabled component resides.

Claim 23

The system of claim 17, wherein the replica flag distinguishes between a read-only replica, a read-write replica, and a master replica.

Claim 24

The system of claim 17, further comprising means for reinitializing the cache.

Claim 25

The system of claim 17, further comprising means for revising the cached location information to encourage conformance with predetermined preferences that certain operations be performed using certain kinds of replicas.

Claim 26

The system of claim 17, further comprising means for detecting access requests that seek to modify a cache-enabled component identifier and for invalidating cache tuples which contain that identifier.

Claim 27

The system of claim 17, further comprising means for modifying the cache to redirect operations from a master replica to a non-master replica.

Claim 28

A computer storage medium having a configuration that represents data and instructions which will cause at least a portion of a computer system to perform method steps for caching tuples, the method steps comprising the steps of claim 1.

Claim 29

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 2.

Claim 30

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 3.

Claim 31

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 4.

Claim 32

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 5.

Claim 33

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 6.

Claim 34

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 7.

Claim 35

The storage medium of claim 25, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 8.

Claim 36

A computer storage medium having a configuration that represents data and instructions which will cause at least a portion of a computer system to perform method steps for caching tuples, the method steps comprising the steps of claim 9.

Claim 37

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 10.

Claim 38

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 11.

Claim 39

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 12.

Claim 40

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 13.

Claim 41

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 14.

Claim 42

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 15.

Claim 43

The storage medium of claim 33, wherein the method steps comprise the steps of claim 16.