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AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsRoch A. Guerin, Arvind Krishna, Vinod Gerard John Peris, Dinesh Chandra Verma
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A method, apparatus and system is provided by which two or more cooperating end-users of the Internet and/or other network can dynamically select and use a single Internet or other network service provider (ISP) from among a multitude of ISPs based on the application requirements. The service provider may be selected in a dynamic fashion. This overcomes the problem wherein traditionally most end-users, whether they are individuals or organizations, are connected to the Internet or other network through a single Internet and/or other network service provider. However, users generally may have more than a single connection to the Internet and/or other network. In such cases the routing of traffic over these multiple connections is handled by IP routers based on the routing information that they exchange with their peers. This information is relatively static in nature and is typically based on the state of links that interconnect the different routers. The invention provides a mechanism for the end-user to take advantage of different rates or services that might be provided by competing Internet and/or other network service providers. Furthermore, there are cases where the choice of which provider to use depends on the application. Thus this invention enables cooperating users (or sites of an organization) to dynamically select different providers on an application by application basis.
A method for an originating site to select a specific provider from a plurality of providers, for exchanging at least one set of application data with a first called site, the method comprising:
A system enabling an originating site to select a specific provider from a plurality of providers, for exchanging at least one set of application data with a first called site, the system comprising:
An article of manufacture comprising:
A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for an originating site to select a specific provider from a plurality of providers, for exchanging at least one set of application data with a first called site, said method steps comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.