Method and apparatus for communicating an optimized reply

A system for communicating reply data with a communication unit comprising:

• a communication server, in communication with the communication unit, comprising a data transfer manager operable for receiving an optimized reply comprising a first data unit identifier and further data, forming a replica rely from the further data and a first data unit corresponding to the first data unit identifier, and forwarding the replica reply,
• a host server, in communication with the communication server, comprising a store for storing the first data unit and being operable for, in response to a request for the first data unit by the communication server, forwarding the first data unit to the communication server, wherein the store comprises a client-server program file memory, the first data unit is a first file version sent to the communication unit and having an associated first data identifier, the reply data is a revised file version generated by a user associated with the communication unit, the further data comprises a delta between the first file version and the revised file version, and the replica reply is a replica of the revised file version.

A system for communicating reply data with a communication unit comprising:

• a communication server, in communication with the communication unit, comprising a data transfer manager operable for receiving an optimized reply comprising a first data unit identifier and further data, forming a replica reply from the further data and a first data unit corresponding to the first data unit identifier, and forwarding the replica reply;
• a host server, in communication with the communication server, comprising a store for storing the first data unit and being operable for, in response to a request for the first data unit by the communication server, forwarding the first data unit to the communication server, wherein the data transfer manager further comprises a virtual session manager adapted to control communication of data between the communication unit and host server by communicating the data via a sessionless-oriented communication protocol over a first communication channel between the virtual session manager and the communication unit, and by communicating the data via a session-oriented communication protocol between the virtual session manager and the host server.

A controller of a communication unit adapted for communicating a reply message the controller comprising:

• a data store for storing a first message and a first message identifier received by the communication unit;
• and
• a data transfer manager for determining a delta between a reply message including at least a portion of the first message and the first message forming an optimized reply message comprising the delta and the first message identifier, and sending the optimized reply to a communications server adapted for forming a replica of the reply message from the optimized reply and a copy of the first message.

A communication server adapted for communicating with a host server and a communication wait, the communications server comprising:

• a data transfer manager operable for receiving an optimized reply, corresponding to a first reply, from the communication unit comprising a first data unit identifier and a delta, and forming a replica of the first reply from the delta and a first data unit corresponding to the first data unit identifier, wherein the data transfer manager is further operable for receiving a further reply, determining a second data unit forming a portion of the further reply and determining a second data unit identifier corresponding to the second data unit, determining a delta between the second data unit and the further reply, forming a further optimized reply comprising the first data unit identifier and delta, and sending the further optimized reply to the communication unit.

A communication server adapted for communicating with a host server and a communication unit, the communications server comprising:

• a data transfer manager operable for receiving an optimized reply, corresponding to a first reply, from the communication unit comprising a first data unit identifier and a delta, and forming a replica of the first reply from the delta and a first data unit corresponding to the first data unit identifier, wherein the data transfer manager further comprises a virtual session manager adapted to control communication of data between the communication unit and host server by communicating the data via a sessionless-oriented communication protocol over a first communication channel between the virtual session manager and the communication unit, and by communicating the data via a session-oriented communication protocol between the virtual session manager and the host server.