System for binding host name of servers and address of available server in cache within client and for clearing cache prior to client establishes connection

Abstract

A name mapper, name servers, and multimedia servers are connected to a multimedia manager. Each client has the name of a multimedia server, i.e., a virtual host name, from which it can obtain multimedia service. The name server stores associations of server host names to layer-3 addresses. When a client initiates a multimedia session, it requests the layer-3 address of the server that corresponds to its server's name. The name server sends the layer-3 address of the one of the multimedia servers that is currently designated as corresponding to that name. The multimedia client stores the name-to-layer-3 address binding in it's cache. The multimedia client then establishes communications with the multimedia server at that layer-3 address and clears its cache. The dynamic name-to-layer-3 address binding in the name server is managed by the name mapper, which may be collocated with the multimedia manager or may be located on a separate server. The multimedia server manager collects real-time status information so that it knows the availability of the multimedia servers in the network. If a multimedia server, whose layer-3 address is presently mapped to from a virtual host name, becomes unable to serve additional clients, the multimedia server manager sends a message to the name mapper to modify the name to layer-3 address binding. The modification specifies an available server's layer-3 address to be bound in place of that of the server that became unable to serve additional clients.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.