US 6,542,468 B1 · Apparatus method and storage medium for autonomous selection of a path by tuning response times

Abstract

The present invention provides a system, which relates to request and response processes between a transmission source node and a transmission destination node, for autonomously selecting an optimum path by obtaining an actual response time per unit data length and estimating a response time for each path. Upon receipt of a response, which is returned from a transmission destination node 111, to a service request issued from the transmission source node (client), a path selecting apparatus calculates and stores an actual response time. The system comprises estimation individuals to be used for estimating a response time for each of clients, and makes each of the plurality of estimation individuals evolve into an estimation individual which can make a more preferable estimate by using a genetic algorithm, each time the actual response time is stored. When any of the clients requests a service of any of servers, the system calculates an estimated response time for each of the paths which can make a data communications with any of the servers by using the estimation individual, selects the path with the minimum estimated response time, and transmits the service request on the selected path.

Claims37

Dependent claims

A path selecting apparatus directing a computer or computers to perform selecting a network path of data transmitted from a transmission source node to a transmission destination node, and a network path of data returned from the transmission destination node to the transmission source node in an environment where nodes are distributed and located via a network, comprising:

a path calculating module running software for obtaining an estimated response time for each of paths that can connect the transmission source node and the transmission destination node by using estimated information, and transmitting a service request message by using a path with a minimum estimated response time, when the transmission source node transmits the service request message to the transmission destination node in order to request a service of the transmission destination node;
a response information management module running software for storing as response information information about a transmission of the service request message, which includes at least a path on which the transmission is performed and a request data length of the service request message, in correspondence with the transmission of the service request message by said path calculating module, and further storing as the response information information about a reception of a response, which includes at least a response data length of the response and a value about a response time required from the transmission of the service request message till the reception of the response, when the transmission source node receives the response to the service request message from the transmission destination node;
and
an estimation information managing module running software for updating contents of the estimated information based on the response information in correspondence with the reception of the response by said response information managing module.

1 more element

A transmission source node for transmitting a service request to a transmission destination node via a network in an environment where nodes are distributed and located via the network, comprising:

a path calculating module running software for obtaining an estimated response time for each path that can connect the transmission source node and the transmission destination node by using estimated information, and transmitting a service request message by using a path with a minimum estimated response time, when the transmission source node transmits the service request message to the transmission destination node in order to request a service of the transmission destination node;
a response information managing module running software for storing as response information information about a transmission of the service request message, which includes at least a path on which the transmission is performed and a request data length of the service request message, in correspondence with the transmission of the service request message by said path calculating module, and further storing as the response information information about a reception of a response, which includes at least a response data length of the response and a value about a response time required from the transmission of the service request message till the reception of the response, when the transmission source node receives the response to the service request message from the transmission destination node;
an estimation information managing module running software for updating the contents of the estimated information based on the response information in correspondence with the reception of the response by said response information managing module;
and
a path information managing module running software for providing at least one mirror server name corresponding to a name of a representative server when the transmission source node transmits the service request message to the representative server, and providing at least one name of a PROXY server which can be used for transmitting, the service request message, when the transmission source node transmits the service request message via a PROXY server.

2 more elements

A path selecting method for selecting a network path of data transmitted from a transmission source node to a transmission destination node, and a network path of data returned from the transmission destination node to the transmission source node in an environment where nodes are distributed and located via a network, comprising:

a path calculating operation obtaining an estimated response time for each path that can connect the transmission source node and the transmission destination node by using estimated information, and transmitting a service request message by using a path with a minimum estimated response time, when the transmission source node transmits the service request message to the transmission destination node in order to request a service of the transmission destination node;
a response information managing operation storing as response information information about a transmission of the service request message, which includes at least a path on which the transmission is performed and a request data length of the service request message, in correspondence with the transmission of the service request message by said path calculating operation, and further storing as the response information information about a reception of a response, which includes at least a response data length of the response and a value about a response time required from the transmission of the service request message till the reception of the response, when the transmission source node receives the response to the service request message from the transmission destination node;
and
an estimation information managing step of updating contents of the estimated information based on the response information in correspondence with the reception of the response by said response information managing operation.

1 more element

The path selecting method according to claim wherein the estimated response time is calculated based on:

the actual response times in the plurality of pieces of response information, which are obtained by receiving the plurality of responses, and the times at which the actual response times are measured;
a coefficient of a degree of recency of the time at which each of the actual response times is measured, a coefficient of the distance of the path whose estimate target path and actual response time are measured, and a coefficient indicating a weight of the distance of each portion of address information about each node on each path whose estimate target path and actual response time are measured, which are stored in respective gene blocks in the response time estimation individual, and
a constant of the degree of recency of the time at which each of the actual response times is measured, and a constant of the distance whose estimate target path and actual response time are measured.

A computer-readable storage medium, which stores a program implementing a method for selecting a path on which a service request is transmitted from a transmission source node to a transmission destination node via a network in an environment where nodes are distributed and located via the network, for directing a computer to perform:

obtaining an estimated response time for each path that can connect the transmission source node and the transmission destination node by using estimated information, and transmitting the service request message by using a path with a minimum estimated response time, when the transmission source node transmits a service request message to the transmission destination node in order to request a service of the transmission destination node;
storing as response information information about a transmission of the service request message, which includes at least a path on which the transmission is performed and a request data length of the service request message, in correspondence with the transmission of the service request message, and further storing as the response information information about a reception of a response, which includes at least a response data length of the response and a value about a response time required from the transmission of the service request message till the reception of the response, when the transmission source node receives the response to the service request message from the transmission destination node;
and
updating the contents of the estimated information based on the response information in correspondence with the reception of the response;
and
providing at least one mirror server name corresponding to a name of a representative server when the transmission source node transmits the service request message to the representative server, and providing at least one name of a PROXY server which can be used for transmitting the service request message when the transmission source node transmits the service request message via a PROXY server.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus method and storage medium for autonomous selection of a path by tuning response times

Life of this patent

Apparatus method and storage medium for autonomous selection of a path by tuning response times

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims37