World-wide-web server that finds optimal path by sending multiple syn+ack packets to a single client

A path-optimizing web server, the server comprising:

• a network connection for receiving packets sent from a client over an Internet;
• a sequence-number generator for generating an initial sequence number for a new connection;
• a connection establisher that receives an initial packet from a client requesting a new connection with the server, the connection establisher generating several reply packets, each reply packet including:
• a server sequence number generated from the initial sequence number, the server sequence number being different for each of the several reply packets;
• wherein several of the reply packets are sent over different paths to the client in response to a single initial packet from the client;
• a path selector, receiving a second packet from the client, the second packet being generated by the client in response to a first packet received by the client, the first packet being one of the reply packets that was received by the client before others of the reply packets, the path selector reading an acknowledgement sequence number generated by the client from the first packet;
• wherein the path selector determines which of the several reply packets reached the client first by comparing the acknowledgement sequence number to the server sequence numbers of the several reply packets;
• and
• a packet transmitter, generating other packets in the new connection to be sent to the client after the acknowledgement packet is received, the packet transmitter sending other packets on the path from the server to the client used by the first packet received by the client,
• whereby the path-optimizing web server selects the path to the client by determining which of the several reply packets reached the client first.

A computer-program product comprising:

• a computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code means embodied therein for establishing a new connection at a server with a remote client over an optimal network path, the computer-readable program code means in the computer-program product comprising:
• network connection means for transmitting and receiving packets from the remote client;
• a server application, connected to the network connection means, for serving web pages to the remote client in response to requests from the remote client;
• initial means for receiving an initial packet from the remote client, the initial packet requesting the new connection with the server;
• multi-packet means for generating multiple initial reply packets, each of the multiple initial reply packets specifying at least a portion of different network paths from the server to the remote client;
• multi-identifier means for generating a plurality of packet identifiers, and for writing a different packet identifier to each of the multiple initial reply packets;
• multi-transmit means for transmitting from the server the multiple initial reply packets with different packet identifiers, the multiple initial reply packets reaching the remote client over different network paths;
• acknowledgement means for receiving an acknowledgement packet from the remote client, the acknowledgement packet including a packet identifier that uniquely identifies a first packet, the first packet being one of the multiple initial reply packets;
• select means for selecting as the optimal network path the network path used by the first packet;
• and
• path means for specifying in the other packets sent to the remote client at least a portion of the optimal network path from the server to the remote client,
• whereby the optimal network path is selected from among the different network paths of the multiple initial reply packets sent to the remote client by the acknowledgement packet from the remote client.